US to Make Visa Bond Program Permanent for Citizens From 50 Countries

The State Department said it will make permanent a visa bond program under which citizens from 50 countries are required to post bonds of up to $20,000 for business or tourist visas.

The department said the final rule follows a 12-month pilot visa bond program launched in August 2025, which capped the maximum bond at $15,000. The rule is intended to prevent immigrants from overstaying their visits.

Under the final rule, the cap would increase to $20,000, according to a draft notice published in the Federal Register on July 31. The notice is set for formal release on Aug. 3.

Visitors will get their bond money back upon the termination of the visa, as long as they have complied with the visa terms and conditions and have departed on time, according to the notice.

The department said data from the visa bond pilot showed the program was effective in enforcing compliance among bonded visa holders.

It noted that about 20,000 visa applicants were required to post a bond during the pilot program, far exceeding the 2,000 applicants the department expected would be subject to the requirement.

Nearly half of those applicants chose not to pay the bond, and the department observed an 83 percent decline in the number of tourist and business visas issued to citizens of the listed countries during the first 10 months of the pilot program, according to the notice.

“The department expects that this final rule will contribute to the continued reduction of demand for B1/B2 visa applications from nationals of countries subject to the program,” the notice said.

Among the 50 countries listed in the pilot program are Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Fiji, Mauritius, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

In 2024, about 45,488 citizens from the listed countries overstayed their visas. The department observed that in the first 10 months of the pilot program, fewer than 50 visitors from those nations overstayed their visas, the notice said.

The pilot program followed President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025, executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Department of State to take all necessary action to remove illegal immigrants.

“Millions of illegal aliens crossed our borders or were permitted to fly directly into the United States on commercial flights and allowed to settle in American communities, in violation of longstanding Federal laws,” Trump stated in his order.

“Many of these aliens unlawfully within the United States present significant threats to national security and public safety, committing vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans,” the president added.