Americas Visa and Travel News
Since September 10, 2026, foreign tourists arriving in Panama by air have automatically received free medical insurance for the first 10 days of their stay. Funded by the Panamanian government, coverage is activated upon immigration clearance at six airports across the country, with no registration or advance payment required.
Travelers entering the United States will soon no longer receive a passport stamp as a matter of course. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says it is ending the routine use of admission stamps during primary inspection. Proof of admission and the authorized length of stay will instead be available primarily in electronic form through the I-94 record.
Since October 1, 2026, travelers entering or leaving Haiti have been required to complete the electronic iKat form. The digital form must be submitted within the three days before travel and applies to both Haitian nationals and foreign travelers, whether they are traveling by air, land, or sea.
Visa-exempt travelers heading to the United States will soon pay slightly more for their electronic travel authorization. Starting October 16, 2026, the ESTA fee will rise from $40.27 to $40.62 as part of a new annual inflation adjustment.
Although the number of visitor visas processed by the United States has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels, wait times for visa interviews at US consulates remain significantly longer than they were in 2019. A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report also highlights major differences between countries and consular posts.
The US State Department has launched a new portal allowing members of the public to directly report suspected fraud or misuse involving US visas. Tips can be submitted anonymously and may be used to open or support an investigation.
Twenty-five years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, their legacy can still be seen in the travel requirements imposed on visitors to the United States. Tighter visa screening, biometrics, electronic passports and eventually ESTA: within just a few years, Washington fundamentally changed the way foreign travelers are screened before entering the country. And that process is still evolving today.
The European Union is moving toward a new security agreement with the United States aimed at allowing its member states to remain part of the US Visa Waiver Program. At the center of the talks are expanded information-sharing requirements involving certain travelers, including biometric data, alongside European safeguards governing how that information can be used.
Donald Trump and several US travel industry executives met at the White House on September 2, 2026, to discuss ways to boost international arrivals to the United States. While the administration is highlighting shorter visa wait times and measures designed to make travel easier, industry leaders are warning in particular about the deterrent effect of the visa bond program imposed on nationals of certain countries.
As of September 1, 2026, Brazil officially provides for temporary visas issued to nationals of visa-exempt countries to be delivered electronically. The new system is expected to allow the consular stage of the process to be completed remotely and, in routine cases, eliminate the need to submit a passport solely to have a visa sticker affixed.
The US is temporarily pausing immigrant visa appointments at its embassies and consulates around the world. The interruption is intended to allow consular officers to complete new training focused in part on assessing whether prospective immigrants are likely to become dependent on U.S. public benefits.
A proposal likely to raise tensions across the US tech sector. The federal government wants to impose an additional $103,265 fee on employers for certain new H-1B petitions subject to the annual cap.
Peru has officially launched its electronic visa and new e-SAMI immigration platform. Unveiled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on August 24, 2026, the system is designed to gradually digitize the management of Peruvian visas.
The United States is preparing to revoke B1/B2 visas held by foreign nationals who applied for asylum after entering the country as temporary visitors. Up to 200,000 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 could be affected, potentially making it the largest mass visa revocation operation in US history.
Cuba’s official eVisaCuba platform is scheduled to go offline for several days for technical maintenance. Cuban consular authorities say the service will be unavailable from August 20 through August 24, 2026.
