Entry to the U.S. is reportedly growing more challenging and expensive under the current administration.

Beyond existing charges it aims to impose on foreign visitors, the State Department is set to launch a one-year pilot program for visa bonds. This initiative will mandate specific business and tourist visa applicants to furnish bonds reaching $15,000 as a prerequisite for visa approval.

This visa bond initiative echoes a previous program from the initial Trump Administration, which compelled citizens of 23 nations—predominantly African—to provide comparable bonds. Although that program, unveiled in late 2020, was slated for six months, it was not fully implemented by the department due to the global travel reduction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as per a Federal Register notice published Tuesday.

The current Trump Administration’s visa bond pilot program is scheduled to commence on August 20. Its stated purpose is “to safeguard America’s borders and its populace by ensuring foreign visitors adhere to their scheduled departure from the United States,” as detailed in a cable obtained by, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

This move is the latest in the Administration’s broader immigration strategies. In late July, the State Department previously announced that nearly all nonimmigrant visa applicants would be required to undergo in-person interviews.

Key details regarding the visa bond program include:

Who is required to provide visa bonds?

The announcement did not name specific nations. However, it indicated that the department would publicize the involved countries on its website at least 15 days prior to the program’s activation, along with “a concise rationale for mandating bonds.” The department further noted that this list of countries could be modified during the pilot’s duration.

A State Department spokesperson reportedly informed that the countries “will be determined based on elevated overstay rates, shortcomings in screening and vetting processes, worries about obtaining citizenship through investment without residency mandates, and foreign policy concerns.”

The notice specified that countries with the highest overstay rates would be identified using a 2023 Department of Homeland Security report. That report indicated that several African nations, along with Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, and Yemen, registered the highest overstay rates for business or tourist visitors. A number of these countries with high overstay rates are also included in Trump’s travel restrictions.

Individuals from the 42 countries and territories participating in the Visa Waiver Program would be exempt from the bond requirement. The VWP allows business or tourist travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days without needing a visa.

According to the notice, the State Department projects approximately 2,000 visa applicants will be affected by this pilot program over its entire 12-month duration. The department stated it “anticipates that the scope and participant countries of the Pilot Program will be restricted, given the anticipated number of applicants otherwise eligible for visas and the uncertainty regarding how many will opt to post a visa bond.”

What is the size of the visa bond?

As per the notice, the bond amount will be at the discretion of a consular officer and may differ on a case-by-case basis.

Affected visa applicants will need to post a bond up to $15,000. However, the State Department has provided consular officers with three tiers for bond amounts: $5,000, $10,000, and $15,000. Consular officers possess the authority to set the precise bond figure “based on the applicant’s specific situation.”

These payment figures were established following discussions with the Treasury Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

The bond becomes due under several conditions: if the traveler breaches their visa status terms; if the traveler submits an “unjustified late” application for status change or extension of their legal stay, or remains in the U.S. beyond their admitted period. It is also considered payable if the traveler submits a timely and correct application for status change or extension of temporary stay but fails to depart the U.S. within 10 days of the request’s denial.

Conversely, the bond is to be canceled upon “significant fulfillment of all conditions stipulated by the bond’s terms.”