Starting August 3, the US Department of State is launching a permanent visa bond program. The new rules will affect citizens of 50 countries applying for B-1/B-2 tourist and business visas. This decision follows an analysis of immigration law violation statistics.
Bond Amount and Refund Conditions
The amount of financial security will be determined individually by the consular officer in each specific case. The maximum bond amount may reach $20,000. Funds are returned to the applicant if they leave US territory within the legally established timeframe, do not use the visa, or are denied entry. In the event of a violation of stay conditions, the funds may be retained by the state.
List of Affected Countries
The list of states whose citizens are subject to the new restrictions includes countries whose residents most frequently exceeded the permitted duration of stay or violated visa usage rules. Among them:
- Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan;
- Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Cambodia;
- Mongolia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Tunisia;
- Uganda, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.
Statistics and Effectiveness of the Pilot Project
Previously, the program operated in test mode with a bond amount ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. According to Associated Press, during the first 10 months of the pilot program, authorities recorded fewer than 50 cases of overstaying by citizens of countries on the new list. Meanwhile, the number of visas issued during this period decreased by 83%.
For comparison: in the 2024 fiscal year, citizens of countries on the new list exceeded the permitted duration of stay in the US nearly 45,500 times. Authorities believe that introducing a permanent bond will help reduce this figure.
Context: Cancellation of the Trump Fee
It is worth noting that earlier, a Federal Court in the US overturned a $100,000 fee introduced by President Donald Trump for processing H-1B work visas for highly skilled foreign specialists. This decision concerned a different category of migrants and is not related to the new visa bond program.
