Washington: The US is expanding its visa bond programme to cover 50 countries from April 2, requiring foreign nationals seeking B1 and B2 visas for business and tourism to post a $15,000 bond, the State Department said Wednesday.
The bond will be returned to visa holders who comply with the terms of their stay and leave the US on time, or if they do not travel.
The move is aimed at curbing illegal overstays, which U.S. authorities say have been significantly reduced under the programme. “Nearly 1,000 foreigners have been issued visas under the program, and 97 per cent of bonded travellers have returned home from the United States on time,” the State Department said.
By contrast, in the final year of the previous administration, more than 44,000 visitors from the 50 countries currently under the visa bond framework overstayed their visas, the fact sheet noted.
The April 2 expansion will bring 12 additional countries under the policy – Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia.
These nations will join 38 others already subject to the visa bond requirement, including Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The State Department said the programme could be further expanded based on “a range of immigration risk factors,” indicating that additional countries may be added in the future depending on overstay trends and compliance data.
Officials also emphasised the financial rationale behind the policy, describing it as a cost-saving measure for U.S. taxpayers.
“It costs the U.S. taxpayer over $18,000 on average to remove an alien illegally present in the United States,” the department said.
By reducing overstays, the visa bond programme is “saving U.S. taxpayers up to $800 million per year that would otherwise be required to remove these aliens who overstay,” it added.
The visa bond requirement applies specifically to short-term B1 and B2 visas, commonly issued for business travel, tourism, and family visits. The bond acts as a financial guarantee to ensure compliance with visa conditions.
B1 and B2 visas remain among the most widely issued non-immigrant visas, particularly for short-term travel. Overstay rates have been a key metric for U.S. authorities to assess immigration risk from specific countries and to shape visa policies accordingly.
(IANS)
