Key points
- Bonds to discourage overstays
- Funds to be returned if applicant follows visa terms
- Pilot programme starts August 20
- Applies to B-1/B-2 visas
WASHINGTON, United States: The US State Department said Monday some visa applicants will soon be required to pay bonds of up to $15,000 to discourage visa overstays as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on migration.
Starting later this month, the pilot programme will require applicants from certain countries to pay a sum of “no less than $5,000” as collateral for the issuance of their visa.
US could require up to $15,000 bonds for some tourist visas under pilot program https://t.co/al7K37ytv1 https://t.co/al7K37ytv1
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 5, 2025
The funds will be returned if the applicant complies with all visa terms. If the applicant remains in the United States past the deadline, the funds will be forfeited.
“Consular officers may require covered non-immigrant visa applicants to post a bond of up to $15,000 as a condition of visa issuance,” the agency said in a notice to be published Tuesday in the US Federal Register.
Bond payments
The 12-month programme would only affect foreign nationals from countries considered to have “high visa overstay rates” based on a 2023 Department of Homeland Security report, the notice said.
Bond payments will also be required by applicants from countries “where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient,” the notice added, as well as those who were granted citizenship without a residency requirement.
“The pilot reinforces the Trump Administration’s commitment to enforcing US immigration laws and safeguarding US national security,” a State Department spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.
Pilot programme
Neither the notice nor the spokesperson specified which countries would be impacted by the new rule.
The programme, which will begin on August 20, will apply to B-1 or B-2 non-immigrant visas, and those asked to pay bonds will have to enter and depart from the United States from a list of pre-selected airports.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump and his administration have cracked down on migration to the United States.
The State Department justified the launch of the pilot programme by calling it “a key pillar of the Trump Administration’s foreign policy to protect the United States from the clear national security threat posed by visa overstays.”
