The State Department added 12 countries to its visa bond requirement on Wednesday, expanding a financial screening program that now covers citizens from 50 nations seeking to enter the United States. Starting April 12, passport holders from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles and Tunisia must post bonds ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 before applying for business or tourist visas.
The amount of the bond depends on an applicant's circumstances and is determined at the discretion of a consular officer during the visa interview. The money is refunded if the visa application is denied or if the traveler complies with the terms of their visa and departs the United States on schedule.
For citizens of many of these countries, the bond requirement represents a substantial financial hurdle. For most of the countries, those figures easily equate to at least a year's average wages or even several years' wages in some cases.
The majority of the 12 newly added countries are in Africa, which the Trump administration says have higher visa overstay rates. However, the expanded list also includes nations across Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The State Department stated that the visa bond program has proven effective at reducing overstays. The State Department reported that nearly 97 percent of the roughly 1,000 individuals who posted bonds complied with visa terms and did not remain in the United States illegally.
The Trump administration first rolled out the bond requirement last year as part of a broader effort to crack down on visa overstays and illegal immigration.
The bond expansion comes as the Trump administration significantly tightens rules on legal immigration across multiple programs. The 75-country immigrant visa pause prevents nationals from those nations from obtaining visas for employment or family reunification purposes.
The 75-country pause has drawn legal challenges. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have urged the administration to revoke it.
The State Department added 12 countries to its visa bond requirement on Wednesday, expanding a financial screening program that now covers citizens from 50 nations seeking to enter the United States. Starting April 2, passport holders from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles and Tunisia must post bonds ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 before applying for business or tourist visas.
The amount of the bond depends on an applicant's circumstances and is determined at the discretion of a consular officer during the visa interview. The money is refunded if the visa application is denied or if the traveler complies with the terms of their visa and departs the United States on schedule.
For citizens of many of these countries, the bond requirement represents a substantial financial hurdle. In several nations on the list, the required amounts equal at least a year's average wages or even several years' wages in some cases, according to analysis of the policy.
The majority of the 12 newly added countries are in Africa, which the Trump administration says have higher visa overstay rates. However, the expanded list also includes nations across Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The State Department stated that the visa bond program has proven effective at reducing overstays. Nearly 97 percent of the roughly 1,000 individuals who posted bonds complied with visa terms and did not remain in the United States illegally, according to the department.
The Trump administration first rolled out the bond requirement last year as part of a broader effort to crack down on visa overstays and illegal immigration. The program now represents one of several immigration restrictions the administration has implemented, including a separate pause on immigrant visa processing for 75 countries announced in January.
The bond expansion comes as the Trump administration significantly tightens rules on legal immigration across multiple programs. The 75-country immigrant visa pause prevents nationals from those nations from obtaining visas for employment or family reunification purposes.
The 75-country pause has drawn legal challenges, with Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives urging the administration to revoke it. The new bond requirements will take effect April 2, bringing the total number of countries subject to the policy from 38 to 50.
Highlighted text was flagged by the council. Tap to see feedback.
The sources also report that the bond requirement starts on April 2 according to one source, differing from the summary's date.