US To Charge Foreigners Up To $15,000 For Tourist Visas – Check If Your Country Is On The List

The United States will soon require certain foreign nationals to pay visa bonds of up to $15,000 under a 12-month pilot program designed to reduce visa overstays, the State Department announced on Monday.

Starting August 20, the program will apply to specific applicants for B-1 business and B-2 tourist visas from countries considered high-risk for overstays, according to a report by news agency AFP.

What is The New US Visa Bond Program?

A notice from the US State Department, set to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, outlines that “consular officers may require covered nonimmigrant visa applicants to post a bond of up to $15,000 as a condition of visa issuance.”

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The bond amount will range between $5,000 and $15,000. The funds will be refunded if the visa holder abides by the terms of their stay. However, those who remain in the U.S. beyond the permitted time will forfeit the entire bond.

Additionally, individuals subject to this bond will be limited to entering and exiting the United States through pre-selected airports.

Who Will Be Affected By The New US Visa Bond Program?

The State Department said the measure is targeted at nationals from countries with “high visa overstay rates,” as identified in a 2023 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report.

The program may also apply to applicants from countries where “screening and vetting information is deemed deficient” or where citizenship can be acquired through investment without any residency requirement.

“Countries will be identified based on high overstay rates, screening and vetting deficiencies, concerns regarding acquisition of citizenship by investment without a residency requirement, and foreign policy considerations,” a State Department spokesperson told AFP.

While the department did not specify which countries will be immediately affected, DHS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection data cited by Reuters highlighted Chad, Eritrea, Haiti, Myanmar, Yemen, Burundi, Djibouti, and Togo as having high overstay rates.

How The New US Visa Bond Program Will Operate

The visa bond is intended as a financial deterrent. Those who exit the U.S. within their visa’s validity period will receive a full refund. In cases of overstay, the bond will be retained by the government.

The pilot program applies exclusively to B-1 and B-2 visa applicants and mandates travel through designated U.S. airports. The State Department said it could not estimate the number of affected applicants, adding that both criteria and the list of eligible countries may change over time.

What Is The Trump Administration Saying

A State Department spokesperson said the program “reinforces the Trump administration’s commitment to enforcing US immigration laws and safeguarding U.S. national security.”

The official notice described the bond program as “a key pillar of the Trump administration’s foreign policy to protect the United States from the clear national security threat posed by visa overstays.”

A similar initiative was announced in November 2020 during former President Donald Trump’s first term but was not fully implemented due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent decline in global travel.

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