The Trump administration will require visa applicants from 12 additional countries to post bonds of up to $15,000 beginning April 12. The policy applies to visitors coming for tourism, study or work; bond levels of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 will be assigned based on the outcome of the visa interview. For many of the affected nations, those sums equal at least a year’s average wages and in some instances represent several years of earnings.
The newly listed countries are:
– Cambodia
– Ethiopia
– Georgia
– Grenada
– Lesotho
– Mauritius
– Mongolia
– Mozambique
– Nicaragua
– Papua New Guinea
– Seychelles
– Tunisia
Bonds will be refunded if the visa holder departs the United States on or before the authorized date of stay or if the applicant decides not to travel.
With this addition, 50 countries will soon be subject to the bond requirement; the administration added similar bond conditions for 38 other nations last year. The State Department says the program targets countries with high visa overstay rates and contends the visa bond program has “proven effective at drastically reducing the number of visa recipients who overstay their visas and illegally remain in the United States.”
Officials describe the measure as part of a broader tightening of legal immigration. In January, the administration temporarily paused immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries — a list that included Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, Russia and Thailand — blocking those applicants from obtaining employment- or family-based green cards during the pause. That suspension has prompted lawsuits and led House Democrats to call on the administration to rescind the policy.
Edited by: Mark Hallam