Many may find the process prohibitive if the State Department’s proposal to require applicants for business and tourist visas to pay a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States is implemented.
The department announced Tuesday that it would begin a 12-month pilot program in which applicants for visas from nations with high overstay rates and inadequate internal document security controls may be asked to post $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 in bonds. The notice will be published in the Federal Register.
The plan coincides with the Trump administration’s tightening of visa application procedures. The State Department revealed last week that many applicants for visa renewals would now need to go through an additional in-person interview, which was previously not necessary. The agency is also suggesting that candidates for the Visa Diversity Lottery program possess current passports from their home nations.
According to a preview of the bond notice that was made public on the Federal Register website on Monday, the pilot program will be implemented within 15 days of its official publication and is required to guarantee that the U.S. government will not be held financially responsible in the event that a visitor violates the conditions of their visa.
“Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department as having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering citizenship by investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement, may be subject to the pilot program,” the announcement stated.
Following the program’s implementation, a list of the impacted nations would be provided, it stated. Depending on the specific circumstances of each application, the bond may be waived.
Citizens of nations participating in the Visa Waiver Program, which permits travel for up to 90 days for business or pleasure, would not be subject to the bond. The program’s 42 participating countries are mostly in Europe, with some also in Asia, the Middle East, and other places.
Although they have been suggested before, visa bonds have never been put into effect. Because of the lengthy procedure of posting and discharging a bond, as well as potential public misconceptions, the State Department has historically resisted the requirement.
But according to the department, the earlier opinion “is not supported by any recent examples or evidence, as visa bonds have not generally been required in any recent period.”
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