US to require $15,000 bond for some visitors
WASHINGTON
The U.S. State Department said some visa applicants will soon be required to pay bonds of up to $15,000 to discourage visa overstays as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on migration.
Starting later this month, the pilot program will require applicants from certain countries to pay a sum of "no less than $5,000" as collateral for the issuance of their visa.
The funds will be returned if the applicant complies with all visa terms. If the applicant remains in the United States past the deadline, the funds will be forfeited.
The 12-month program would only affect foreign nationals from countries considered to have "high visa overstay rates" based on a 2023 Department of Homeland Security report, the agency said in a notice to be published yesterday in the U.S. Federal Register.
Bond payments will also be required by applicants from countries "where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient," the notice added, as well as those who were granted citizenship without a residency requirement.
The program, which will begin on Aug. 20, will apply to B-1 or B-2 nonimmigrant visas, and those asked to pay bonds will have to enter and depart from the United States from a list of pre-selected airports.
