WASHINGTON, March 18 - The U.S. State Department will expand a visa bond requirement so that citizens of 50 countries must post $15,000 to apply for entry into the United States, a State Department official said on Wednesday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 12 countries are being added to a roster that already contained 38 nations, mainly in Africa.
The program mandates that foreign nationals pay $15,000 when seeking a B1 or B2 visa, the classifications for business and tourism travel. The official said the expansion is scheduled to take effect on April 2 and described the policy as an effort to prevent visitors from overstaying their authorized periods of admission.
Newly added countries
- Cambodia
- Ethiopia
- Georgia
- Grenada
- Lesotho
- Mauritius
- Mongolia
- Mozambique
- Nicaragua
- Papua New Guinea
- Seychelles
- Tunisia
Previously included countries
The official said the visa bond program previously covered 38 nations: Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The official said bonds will be returned to visa recipients who either return to their home countries in compliance with the terms of the visa and bond, or who do not travel at all.
Since taking office last January, President Donald Trump has pursued a hard-line immigration agenda, the official said, including an aggressive deportation program, revocations of visas and green cards, and reviews of social media posts and past speeches of immigrants. Human rights groups have criticized these immigration and travel-related measures, arguing they limit due process guarantees and free expression. Supporters of the administration counter that the policies are intended to improve domestic security.
The official also noted that last June the president issued a travel ban that fully or partially blocked citizens of 19 nations from entering the United States on national security grounds.
On the effectiveness of the bond program, the State Department official said it has reduced the number of people who overstay their visas. The official did not provide additional data in this account.