In brief
Starting April 2, citizens from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia will have to place a bond of up to $15,000 to apply for U.S. visas. This program, initiated by the Trump administration, aims to curb illegal migration by holding visa applicants accountable. The federal agency claims that the bond system has effectively lowered the overstay rates among visa holders.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. State Department has announced the addition of 12 countries to its ongoing list of nations whose citizens will be required to post bonds ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 when applying for U.S. visas. The new requirement will go into effect on April 2, impacting passport holders from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia.The bond is designed to ensure that visa holders do not overstay their permits. It is refundable if the visa application is denied or if the applicant complies with the visa terms once granted. This expansion means that a total of 50 countries will now be affected by this visa bond requirement, a policy originally implemented during the Trump administration in response to increasing concerns about illegal immigration and visa overstays.The visa bond requirement varies based on the applicant's circumstances and the discretion of the evaluating consular officer. The U.S. Department has noted that this policy has been successful in significantly lowering the rate of visa overstays, with nearly 97% of the nearly 1,000 individuals who posted a bond not violating their visa conditions.For those interested in the full list of affected countries, the State Department has published the information on their official website.