U.S. to Launch Pilot Program Requiring Some Travelers to Pay Visa Bonds of Up to $15,000 to Enter the Country
The U.S. Department of State is expected to announce the list of affected countries soon.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — The United States will launch a new pilot program that could require certain travelers to pay visa bonds of up to $15,000 to enter the country, according to CNBC.
The 12-month program, outlined in an unpublished temporary final rule posted Tuesday in the Federal Register, targets visitors from countries with historically high visa overstay rates or insufficient vetting processes. It’s the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to tighten immigration controls.
The program will apply to leisure and business travelers seeking B-1 or B-2 visas from countries that meet one or more of the following criteria:
- High visa overstay rates
- Inadequate screening and vetting practices
- Citizenship-by-investment policies without residency requirements
The U.S. Department of State is expected to announce the list of affected countries soon. Based on the Department of Homeland Security’s 2023 Entry/Exit Overstay Report, some countries with the highest overstay rates include Chad (50%), Laos (35%), and Haiti (31%). However, countries with the largest total number of overstays include Mexico (approximately 49,000), Colombia (41,000), Brazil (21,000), and the Dominican Republic (20,000).
Despite the sweeping nature of the policy, only a limited number of travelers are expected to be affected. The State Department estimates roughly 2,000 people will be required to post bonds during the pilot period due to eligibility restrictions and uncertainties around travelers’ ability to pay.
Bond amounts will be set at $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, depending on consular officers' assessments of travelers' personal circumstances such as purpose of travel, employment status, income, skills, and education. Those required to post bonds must also enter and exit through specific U.S. ports of entry, which will be announced later.
The initiative serves both operational and diplomatic goals. According to the State Department, the pilot is designed to test whether the process of issuing and refunding bonds is practical — a procedure previously described as “cumbersome.” It will also evaluate whether such financial requirements deter visa overstays.
Furthermore, U.S. officials view the policy as a diplomatic instrument to pressure foreign governments into improving travel documentation and reducing their citizens' overstaying rates.
The program offers more transparency than the previously announced $250 “visa integrity fee” introduced in July and follows the administration’s June travel ban targeting nationals from 12 countries.
While only 1% to 2% of nonimmigrant visitors typically overstay their visas each year, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, data suggest that about 42% of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. originally entered on valid visas but failed to depart.
In 2019 alone, the Department of Homeland Security reported that more than 320,000 people overstayed their visas — a figure that includes those who eventually left the country.