US to impose up to $15,000 visa bonds under revived Trump-era pilot program

WASHINGTON

The US State Department is moving forward with plans to impose visa bonds of up to $15,000 for some business and tourist travelers from countries with high overstay rates, according to a draft rule set to be published Tuesday in the Federal Register.

The measure, part of a 12-month pilot program, revives a Trump-era initiative first introduced in November 2020 — near the end of his first term, before being succeeded by Joe Biden the following January — but never implemented.

“The Pilot Program will enable the Department to assess the operational feasibility of posting, processing, and discharging visa bonds,” the notice states, adding it will do so “in coordination with the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security.”

Visitors would receive the bond back upon leaving the US, naturalization, or death, according to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement regulations.

Countries subject to the requirement will be listed on the web, at the address travel.state.gov, at least 15 days before implementation.

The draft rule said the bonds are meant “to ensure nonimmigrants using these visa categories comply with the terms and conditions of their visas and timely depart the United States.”

The measure comes amid a broader crackdown on immigration under the Trump administration, which has included visa bans, restrictions on asylum, the rounding up of irregular migrants who have lived in the US for decades, as well as the cancellation of visas and green cards over participation in pro-Palestinian protests.

WASHINGTON

Visitors would receive the bond back upon leaving the US, naturalization, or death, according to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement regulations.

Countries subject to the requirement will be listed on the web, at the address travel.state.gov, at least 15 days before implementation.

The draft rule said the bonds are meant “to ensure nonimmigrants using these visa categories comply with the terms and conditions of their visas and timely depart the United States.”