Make American Travel the Best in the World
The U.S. is preparing to welcome millions of visitors from around the world for a mega-decade of events, which could generate billions of dollars for Americans and businesses. We have the chance to showcase our greatest destinations and turn international visitors into repeat customers.
Yet America’s travel infrastructure is outdated, underfunded and inefficient, creating vulnerabilities in national security and economic opportunity. The following report outlines the urgent actions needed to transform travel and upgrade the travel experience.
America is Losing its Share of the Global Travel Market to Other Countries
Other nations are investing aggressively in travel infrastructure and advanced technologies, claiming a growing share of the global travel market. Without immediate modernization, the U.S. risks losing its competitive edge on the global stage.
Travelers in the U.S. are ready for the advanced, security-enhancing technologies already being used in other countries. By investing in modernized infrastructure and technologies, the U.S. can reduce long airport screening times, streamline customs processes and eliminate bureaucratic delays, all while strengthening national security.
The future of travel requires immediate investment, innovation and public-private collaboration with the White House and Congress leading the way. Washington must implement policies and investments immediately and in tandem to make American travel the best in the world. To understand the actions U.S. policy makers must take, please select a journey.
Welcome to the Future of Domestic Travel in America
Follow a family on their flight from Ohio heading west to visit grandparents. You'll see how safe and seamless travel within the United States can be if we implement policy change now.
Get TSA Wait Time Notifications
Our Ohio family arrives at the airport. Instead of waiting in line at the TSA checkpoint without knowing how long the wait will be, smartphone notifications update the family on live TSA wait times, which remain under 5 minutes.
TSA set a single-day record on December 1, 2024, screening over three million passengers. The U.S. will reach such daily travel volumes by 2033.
Say Goodbye to the Bag Drop Line
At the airport, there’s no need to stand in line to check bags—biometric confirmation is all that’s needed for bag drop.
Currently, only nine U.S. airports employ biometric bag drop for checked bags.
Walk Through Screening with Biometrics
Entering the TSA PreCheck line, biometrics allow the whole family to simply walk through, confirming their identities and screening status without needing to produce IDs or boarding passes, reducing lines and TSA wait times.
Of Americans favor the use of biometrics at TSA security checkpoints.
Carry On Larger Liquids
There’s no need to dump out their water bottles or remove their shoes, belts, jackets, or electronics due to new technology automatically screening these items. Our family barely needs to slow down and has plenty of time to eat and shop before they board.
In traveler spending could be added this year if a more efficient security screening process is implemented, allowing for an additional three million domestic trips.
Securely Board With Ease
With plenty of time to spare before their flight begins boarding, the family swings by the airline lounge for coffee and snacks. At the gate, biometrics confirm their identities again and allow them to securely board without pausing—there’s no need to show or scan boarding passes.
Of Americans say shorter airport lines is their top priority for improving air travel.
Get Ready for Takeoff
Settled into their seats, our family members unwind and look forward to time with the grandparents…and a seamless, stress-free return trip home.
All passengers should be able to carry on larger liquids, leave all electronics in their bags, and keep their shoes, jackets and belts on if these policies are enacted.
Welcome to the Future of International Travel to America
Follow our example family on their flight to the U.S. from Argentina to attend a premier international soccer tournament. You’ll see how changes we make to travel infrastructure and investments in advanced technology can make coming to the U.S. the best travel experience in the world, all while strengthening security measures.
Complete the Visa Application Process Faster
Our family from Argentina can’t wait to attend the soccer match. While dad and the kids still have visas from a trip last summer to Miami, mom has to get a first-time visitor visa. With new visa security screening processes in place, mom's vetting is completed in just three weeks. She doesn't have to book an appointment at the U.S. Embassy and wait for over 100 days for her visa to come through. Instead, she'll have a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) interview on arrival.
Visa wait times are high, with visitors requiring a visa experiencing wait times that can exceed six months or even a year.
Skip the Embassy Interview
Rather than traveling to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires and spending an entire day waiting in long lines to submit documents, give their fingerprints, and interview with consular officers to secure visas, our family can instead spend time planning their U.S. trip. They purchase their soccer tournament tickets, book flights and hotels, and schedule a full travel itinerary around the U.S.
is the projected cost that excessive visa wait times alone could cost the U.S. over the next decade by 39 million visitors who decide to travel elsewhere
Walk Through Customs Without Stopping
Our Argentine family lands in Houston. There’s no need to collect their checked bags at international baggage claim and re-check their bags with the airline—they’re already on their way to the family’s final destination.
There are also no long waits to go through customs and inspection. Dad and the kids are Global Entry trusted travelers, so they walk through customs without stopping at a kiosk or officer, while cameras capture their facial biometrics on the move to confirm their identities and ensure border security.
International visitors could be hosted by the U.S. over the next four years.
Speed Through Customs With Biometrics
Since mom doesn’t have Global Entry, she has to complete her visa vetting. She goes to the Secure Travel Partnership lane and meets with a CBP officer to give her biometrics, answer a few questions, and be on her way.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection biometric matching rate is more than 99% accurate.
Go Directly to Your Domestic Connecting Flight
Heading toward their domestic connecting flight, our visiting family goes directly to their gate. They don’t have to collect or re-check their checked bags, which will meet them at their final destination, or go through additional TSA screening since Argentina is a One Stop Security partner country.
Congress authorized TSA to conduct One Stop Security pilot programs at six last-point-of-departure airports for six years.
Make Your Domestic Connection Easy
Avoiding the stress of making a now last-minute connection and with ample time until boarding, our family relaxes in the airport lounge before their final flight to Kansas City.
The cost of losing just a single international flight due to Customs and Border Protection staff shortages translates into up to a $227 million loss to the U.S. economy every year.
How America Will Achieve Seamless & Secure Travel
These key initiatives will ensure the U.S. offers a world-class, secure travel experience and remains the largest travel market in the world.
Establish an interagency task force led by the White House.
Executive leadership will demonstrate the White House’s commitment to upgrading the U.S. travel experience so that our country can maximize the opportunities of the mega-decade of events.
Provide full-strength consular staffing for visa processing. Fully staffing visa processing windows during all available business hours and providing surge staff to remotely process visa applications will make it easier for visitors from around the globe to access America’s marquee events and destinations.
Extend visa validity for vetted, lawful visitors. Extending B1/B2 visa validity by two years for lawful visa holders who have never been refused a visa, have previously visited the U.S., left the country on time and have no immigration or criminal violations will encourage visitors to make America a repeat destination.
Establish a National Vetting Service that builds on the existing National Vetting Center. A new National Vetting Service dedicated to visa processing and traveler vetting would be a professional national security workforce separate from the Foreign Service that is fully funded through visa fees.
Create a “Secure Travel Partnership” program to increase the number of countries that have strong travel security agreements with the U.S. Countries that meet all security requirements of the Visa Waiver Program, keep refusal rates below 12% and maintain overstay rates below 5% would quality for visa facilitation benefits. In return, highly qualified first-time B1/B2 visa applicants from Partnership countries could have in-person interviews and biometric collection conducted by CBP upon arrival at U.S. airports—rather than by appointment at U.S. consulates and embassies.
Invest in and fully deploy security technology. Ending the diversion of the Passenger Security Fee would generate $10 billion to modernize TSA and put new identity verification, on-person screening and baggage scanning technology in every U.S. airport lane within five years.
Provide full-strength staffing at airport customs. We need to fully staff CBP officers at U.S. airports of entry and provide surge staffing at the National Targeting Center, National Vetting Center and Global Entry processing points. This will maximize security while accommodating record travel.
End hours-long customs wait times for Americans returning home from abroad. Expansion of CBP’s Enhanced Passenger Processing and Seamless Border Entry to the top 25 airports by the end of 2026 would allow low-risk U.S. citizens to forgo customs interviews if they pass pre-arrival vetting, confirm their identities biometrically and have nothing to declare.
Strengthen protection against immigration overstays. Completing CBP’s biometric air exit system and enhancing the Traveler Verification Service within two years will create strong, modern and efficient airport borders to keep America safe and global travel moving.
Why Take Action Now
America is facing a critical moment in travel infrastructure as we prepare to host major global events. Watch to learn why modernizing America's travel systems can't wait.
