U.S. Will Make Visa Bond Program Permanent, Affecting Mostly African Countries

The State Department is making permanent a pilot program under which citizens from 50 countries, mainly in Africa, are required to post bonds to apply for a U.S. visa, and it’s raising the cost as well, to as much as $20,000.

A draft notice published Friday in the Federal Register says a nearly year-long review “provided sufficient data” to suggest the bond program effectively enforces compliance with visa conditions, and would be made permanent.

The notice is to be formally released on Monday, the day the program becomes permanent, and additional countries may be added to the list, which can be found here. {snip}

The program requires holders of passports from the affected countries to pay the bond to be interviewed for business and tourist visas — known as B1 and B2 visas — to travel to the United States. The bond is refunded if the visa application is denied or, if granted, if the person adheres to the visa terms.

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State Department officials have hailed the program as a great success. In 2024, nearly 45,500 visitors from the 50 countries in the program overstayed their visas, according to the notice. In the first 10 months of the pilot visa bond program, the number of overstays from those countries was fewer than 50, it said.

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