State Department adds 12 countries to visa bond requirement

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday added 12 countries to its list of nations whose citizens must post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply for U.S. business or tourist visas, the department said.

The department said passport holders from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles and Tunisia must pay a bond of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 beginning April 2. The bond is refunded if the visa application is denied or, if granted, the traveler complies with the terms of the B1 or B2 visa, the department said.

The cost of the bond depends on the applicant’s circumstances and is set at the discretion of a consular officer during the visa interview, the department said. Officials said the requirement was first rolled out by the Trump administration last year as part of an effort to crack down on visa overstays and illegal immigration.

The department said the program has been effective. “The visa bond program has already proven effective at drastically reducing the number of visa recipients who overstay their visas and illegally remain in the United States,” the department said, adding that nearly 97% of roughly 1,000 individuals who posted bonds complied with visa terms and did not overstay.

With the latest additions, the department said citizens from 50 countries will be subject to the bond requirement beginning April 2. Officials said the majority of the countries are in Africa, though the list also includes nations in Asia, Latin America and elsewhere.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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