The United States will introduce a pilot program in two weeks that allows consular officers to require visa bonds of up to $15,000 for some tourist and business travelers, according to a Federal Register notice released Monday.
The program aims to reduce visa overstays by targeting applicants from countries with high overstay rates or limited screening and vetting information.
Starting August 20, consular officers will have the discretion to impose bonds of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, with a general expectation to require at least $10,000. The pilot program will run for approximately one year. The State Department has not estimated how many visa applicants could be affected.
President Donald Trump has emphasized tightening US immigration policies throughout his administration. He has increased border enforcement and issued a travel ban in June that fully or partially blocks citizens from 19 countries on national security grounds. Many of those countries also have high visa overstay rates, including Chad, Eritrea, Haiti, Myanmar, and Yemen.
A similar pilot program was launched in November 2020 during Trump’s first term, but was never fully implemented due to the global decline in travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump’s immigration measures have discouraged some international travelers, contributing to a 20% decline in travel from Canada and Mexico to the US year over year. Transatlantic airfares also dropped to pre-pandemic levels in May.
US Customs and Border Protection data for fiscal year 2023 show high overstay rates in multiple African nations, including Burundi, Djibouti, and Togo, which may be affected under the new bond requirement.
Get the latest international news and global stories wherever you prefer.
Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.