Washington (TDI): In a significant move aimed at tightening immigration enforcement, the United States will soon roll out a pilot program that could require certain tourists and business travelers to post bonds of up to $15,000 when applying for a visa, according to a government notice released Monday.
Set to take effect on August 20, the program gives US consular officers the authority to demand refundable security bonds from applicants hailing from countries with historically high visa overstay rates. Officials may also apply the requirement to nationals of countries where the US deems vetting processes to be inadequate.
Under the new rule, officers can impose one of three bond amounts: $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, though they are expected to default to at least $10,000 in most cases. The money would be returned to travelers who leave the US in accordance with the conditions of their visas.
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The move echoes policies introduced under President Donald Trump, who has prioritized strict immigration control since taking office.
This isn’t the first time such a bond system has been proposed. A similar program was announced in November 2020, during the closing months of Trump’s first term, but it was never fully enforced due to the pandemic’s impact on global travel.
In addition to the bond requirement, a new $250 “visa integrity fee” will be introduced for all approved non-immigrant visa applicants starting October 1. The fee, introduced under a recent spending bill passed by Congress, could be refundable for those who comply with the terms of their visa stay.
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The State Department has not yet provided an estimate of how many applicants could be impacted by the new rules.
Travel trends have already shifted in recent years, with transatlantic airfares dropping to pre-COVID levels and a noticeable decline in arrivals from Canada and Mexico, travel from both countries to the US was down 20% year-over-year.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
