The US could require bonds of up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot programme being launched in two weeks, a government notice said on Monday.
The programme is designed to crack down on visitors who overstay their visas. The move may make an already expensive process unaffordable for many.
“Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department as having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering citizenship by investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement, may be subject to the pilot programme,” said a preview of a notice to be posted in the Federal Register on Tuesday.
It was not clear which countries would be affected but the notice said the list would be made public when the programme takes effect.
The bond would not apply to citizens of countries enrolled in the Visa Waiver Programme, which enables travel for business or tourism for up to 90 days.
The State Department said that under the 12-month pilot programme, people could be required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when they apply for a visa. The funds will be returned to travellers if they depart within the terms of their visas, the notice said.
It said the pilot programme is aimed at ensuring the US government does not become financially liable if a visitor fails to comply with their visa terms.
Donald Trump has made curbing illegal immigration a focus of his presidency, boosting resources to secure the border and arrest people who are illegally in the US.
Last week, the State Department announced that many visa renewal applicants would have to undergo an in-person interview, something that was not previously required. The administration issued a travel ban in June that fully or partly blocks citizens of 19 nations from entering the US, on national security grounds.
While the notice singles out countries offering citizenship through investment, the administration introduced the Trump Gold Card in recent months, which provides a path to residency and citizenship if a person commits to investing at least $5 million in the US.
A similar pilot programme was launched in November 2020, two months before the end of Mr Trump's first term in office. That scheme was not fully implemented due to the drop in global travel because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Trump administration continues to revoke the visas of international students who have taken part in pro-Palestine activism and says it will screen applicants' social media for anti-Semitic content.
