As the Donald Trump-led administration continues its crackdown on visa and immigration, a new pilot program from the US State Department could bring in bonds up to $15,000 for certain tourist and business visas.
As per the notice issued by the Department of State, a 12-month long visa bond pilot program is set to begin across the United States. Under this, immigrants applying for tourist or business B1, B2 visas from countries with high visa overstay rates, may be subject to a pilot program.
“Consular officers may require covered nonimmigrant visa applicants to post a bond of up to $15,000 as a condition of visa issuance, as determined by the consular officers,” reads the official notice in the federal register.
Countries which will be subject to these bonds will be announced “no fewer than 15 days” before the pilot program takes effect, which is, 15 days after the regulations are published in the Federal Register. The program will come into effect from August 20 onwards and will last for at least a year.
This move from the State Department comes after the initiative as first revealed during the last months of the first Trump administration. During his first term as POTUS, Trump had floated the idea of using bonds as a “diplomatic tool” to ensure visitors leave the US on time and do not overstay their visa.
This pilot program, however, as per the State Department, was not implemented due to the restrictions on travel imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In light of the worldwide reduction in global travel as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department did not implement the pilot in 2020 and consequently it did not provide any data on the feasibility for full implementation,” reads the official handout.
Trump admin visa crackdown continues
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced a travel ban for certain countries due to national security concerns, high via overstay rates and insufficient cooperation with US law enforcement.
The ban fully restricted entry from Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, which were identified as ‘very high risk’ due to inadequate screening, terrorism ties, or lack of cooperation with US immigration enforcement.
Partial restrictions were imposed on Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, limiting immigrant and nonimmigrant visas (B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, J) due to high overstay rates or insufficient law enforcement collaboration.