According to the State Department, 12 additional nations are being added to a growing list of countries whose citizens must provide bonds of up to $15,000 when applying for U.S. visas.
Starting April 2, individuals holding passports from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia will be obligated to submit these bonds. The bond will be refunded if the visa application is denied or, if approved, the individual complies with the visa requirements.
This information was shared through a notice on the State Department’s official website on Wednesday.
Following April 2, the total number of countries whose citizens are subject to this bond requirement will reach 50. This initiative was first introduced by the Trump administration last year as part of efforts to combat visa overstays and to reduce illegal immigration more generally.
Under this program, visa applicants from specified countries, many of which are located in Africa and have elevated overstay rates, are required to present bonds of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, depending on their individual situations and the judgment of the consular officer handling the application.
The department stated, “The visa bond program has already demonstrated effectiveness in significantly lowering the number of visa holders who overstayed their visas and unlawfully stayed in the United States,” noting that nearly 97% of the close to 1,000 individuals who have placed the bond did not overstay their visas.