The Trump administration is making permanent a programme requiring certain visitor visa applicants from 50 countries to pay refundable bonds of up to $20,000 before travelling to the United States. The Visa Bond Pilot Program, introduced in August last year, required some applicants for tourist and business visas to post refundable bonds designed to discourage them from overstaying their visas.
In a draft notice published on Friday, the US State Department said the year-long pilot had “provided sufficient data to suggest that a visa bond program is an effective tool for enforcing compliance among bonded visa holders.”
Under the permanent programme, consular officers may require applicants to post bonds of $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000, depending on their individual circumstances.
The department said officers would generally set the bond at $15,000. The amount could be reduced to $10,000 if an applicant could not afford the standard bond but was still able to finance the planned trip. It could be increased to $20,000 if an applicant’s ties to the United States suggested the standard amount would not provide sufficient assurance that they would leave the country on time.
The new bond amounts are higher than those used during the pilot programme, when applicants were required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000.
The bond is refundable if the traveller complies with the conditions of the visa, including departing the United States before their authorised stay expires. It will also be refunded if the visa holder does not travel before the visa expires or is denied entry at a US port of entry.
According to the State Department, nationals from the 50 affected countries accounted for 45,488 visa overstays during the 2024 financial year, compared with fewer than 50 during the first 10 months of the pilot programme.
The department also said visa issuance to nationals of those countries fell by 83% over the same period, partly because many otherwise eligible applicants did not pay the required bond.
The rule applies to travellers using passports issued by the listed countries, regardless of where they apply for a visa. The State Department said it may update the list on a rolling basis, with new designations generally taking effect after at least 15 days’ notice, while removals may be implemented immediately.
The 50 countries currently covered by the programme are:
- Algeria
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Botswana
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cambodia
- Central African Republic
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Cuba
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Gabon
- The Gambia
- Georgia
- Grenada
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kyrgyz Republic
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mongolia
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Nigeria
- Papua New Guinea
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tonga
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
The State Department said consular officers may also consider factors including the purpose of the visit, an applicant’s employment, income, skills and education when determining the amount of the bond. It said the amount is not automatically determined by the applicant’s country of origin.