The State Department is proposing a new rule requiring business and tourist visa applicants to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, which could make the process unaffordable for many.
The proposal targets countries with high overstay rates and weak internal document security. A 12-month pilot program would see applicants from such countries required to pay bonds of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 when applying for a visa.
This move follows tighter visa requirements under the Trump administration, including new in-person interview requirements for many visa renewals and a proposed rule for Visa Diversity Lottery applicants to have valid passports from their country of citizenship.
The countries affected will be named once the program starts, and the bond may be waived depending on the applicant’s situation.
This rule would not apply to citizens of countries in the Visa Waiver Program, which allows travel for up to 90 days without a visa.
Although visa bonds have been proposed before, they were not implemented. The State Department had previously discouraged them due to the complexity of the process and concerns about public perception. However, it now states that there is no recent evidence to support those concerns.