US could require up to $15,000 bonds for some tourist visas under pilot program

A government notice issued Monday indicated that the United States may require bonds of up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot program launching in two weeks, in an effort to crack down on visitors who overstay their visas.

The program gives U.S. consular officials discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high rates of visa overstay, according to a notice in the Federal Register.

The notice indicated that the bonds could also be applied to people from countries where screening and vetting information is deemed inadequate.

Starting August 20, the new visa program will last for approximately one year, according to the government notice.

It added that consular officers will have three options for visa applicants subject to bonds: $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, but they are generally expected to request at least $10,000. The notice added that a similar pilot program was launched in November 2020 during the final months of Trump's first term, but was not fully implemented due to the decline in global travel related to the pandemic.

The State Department was unable to estimate how many visa applicants might be affected by the change. Many of the countries targeted by Trump's travel ban also have high rates of visa overstays, including Chad, Eritrea, Haiti, Myanmar, and Yemen. Several countries in Africa, including Burundi, Djibouti, and Togo, also recorded high rates of overstays, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data for fiscal year 2023.