WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department is considering a requirement for individuals seeking business and tourist visas to provide a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the U.S., a measure that could make the visa process too costly for many applicants.
According to a notification scheduled for Tuesday’s publication in the Federal Register, the department plans to initiate a 12-month pilot program. Under this program, applicants from nations identified as having high rates of visa overstays and inadequate internal document security might be asked to secure bonds of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 when applying for a visa.
This proposal emerges as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to impose stricter protocols for visa applicants. The previous week, the State Department declared that many renewing visa applicants would need to undergo an additional face-to-face interview, a step not previously required. Furthermore, the department is suggesting that applicants for the Visa Diversity Lottery program possess valid passports from their country of origin.
A sneak peek of the bond announcement, made available on the Federal Register website on Monday, indicated that the pilot program would begin 15 days after its official release. The purpose is to prevent the U.S. government from being financially responsible if a visitor violates their visa terms.
“Foreign nationals applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure, who come from countries identified by the department as having high visa overstays, where screening and vetting information is insufficient, or that offer citizenship by investment with no residency conditions, might be included in the pilot program,” the notice stated.
The countries affected will be listed once the program takes effect, it said.
The bond requirement would not extend to citizens of nations participating in the Visa Waiver Program and might be exempted for others depending on their specific case.
Visa bonds have been proposed in the past but have not been implemented. The State Department has traditionally discouraged the requirement because of the cumbersome process of posting and discharging a bond and because of a possible misperceptions by the public.
However, the department said that previous view “is not supported by any recent examples or evidence, as visa bonds have not generally been required in any recent period.”
