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US makes $20,000 visa bond permanent for 50 nations with most overstays
The US State Department has made permanent, as of August 3, a visa bond program for 50 countries with the highest rates of visa violations. Applicants from these countries will pay up to $20,000 per business or tourist visa application.
The US State Department has rolled out a new measure for citizens of countries that most frequently violate visa rules. In a statement on July 31, the department announced that, starting August 3, a visa bond would be permanently required for business and tourist visas for citizens of 50 countries.
Under the rule, each visa application from the listed countries will require a bond of up to $20,000, the exact amount to be set by a consular officer. Those who violate the terms of their stay will forfeit the bond, while those who do not use the visa or are denied entry will be refunded.
The State Department said the listed countries are those whose citizens most often violate visa rules. The measure aims to reduce visa abuse and overstays.
The list includes Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, as well as Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Mongolia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Tunisia, Uganda, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and many countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Russia was not included.
Under the earlier pilot program, the bond amount ranged from $5,000 to $15,000. The new regulation eliminates the $5,000 lower limit and raises the cap to $20,000. The department said it found the results of the pilot successful.
According to Associated Press data, in fiscal year 2024, citizens of the listed countries overstayed their visas approximately 45,500 times. In the first 10 months of the pilot project, that number dropped below 50. Over the same period, the number of visas issued to these countries fell by 83 percent.
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