US expands visa bond to 50 countries

The US Department of State is expanding its visa bond programme to cover 50 countries, requiring foreign nationals from affected nations to post a refundable $15,000 bond before receiving B1 (business) or B2 (tourism) visas, in a bid to curb visa overstays.

According to a statement issued on March 18, the programme has already seen a 97 per cent compliance rate, with nearly 1,000 visas issued under the scheme and the overwhelming majority of travellers returning to their home countries as required.

The expansion contrasts sharply with figures from the final year of former President Joe Biden, when more than 44,000 visitors from countries currently under the visa bond programme overstayed their visas. The US government said the disparity underscores the effectiveness of the initiative, noting that its expansion is expected to further reduce violations.

“The State Department is expanding its visa bond program to apply to a total of 50 countries on April 2 and will require foreign nationals from these countries to post a bond of $15,000 before receiving B1 or B2 visas for business and tourism in the United States. The bond will be returned to visa recipients who return home in compliance with the terms of the visa and the bond or does not travel,” the statement read.

“Preventing Illegal Visa Overstays: The visa bond program has already proven effective at drastically reducing the number of visa recipients who overstay their visas and illegally remain in the United States,” it added.

The new phase of the policy will extend the requirement to 12 additional countries: Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia. These nations join 38 others already participating, including Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cuba, Djibouti, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea, Malawi, Nepal, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Uganda, and Venezuela, among others.

The department explained that countries are added to the visa bond programme based on various immigration risk indicators. It stressed that the bond is fully refundable once travellers comply with the terms of their stay and return home within the stipulated period.

Highlighting the financial impact, the statement noted: “It costs the US taxpayer over $18,000 on average to remove an alien illegally present in the United States. The Department of State is saving US taxpayers up to $800 million per year that would otherwise be required to remove these aliens who overstay.”