The United States will require citizens from 50 countries to post a bond of up to $15,000 when applying for certain visas, a State Department official said on Wednesday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 12 countries are being added to a list that already includes 38 others, most of them in Africa.
The expanded visa bond program, which requires eligible applicants to pay up to $15,000 for B1 or B2 visas for business and tourism, will go into effect on April 2. Officials said the measure is intended to deter visa overstays and ensure compliance with U.S. immigration rules.
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The newly added countries include Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles and Tunisia. The 38 countries already included in the program are 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.
Officials said the bond will be refunded to visa recipients who comply with the terms of their stay and return to their home country on time, or if they do not travel to the United States after receiving the visa.
The move comes as President Donald Trump continues to pursue a hardline immigration agenda during his second term. This has included an aggressive deportation push, visa and green card revocations, and increased scrutiny of applicants, including reviews of social media activity and past public statements. Human rights groups have criticized these measures, arguing they restrict due process and free speech, while Trump and his allies maintain that the policies are necessary to strengthen domestic security.
The expansion also follows a broader tightening of travel rules. Last December, Trump signed a proclamation significantly widening restrictions on foreign nationals from several countries, reviving and expanding a policy closely associated with his first term. The administration said the move was aimed at safeguarding national security.
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According to the White House, the proclamation maintains full entry bans for citizens of 12 countries classified as “high risk,” including Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also introduced additional restrictions on travelers from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, while blocking entry for individuals traveling on documents issued by the Palestinian Authority.
The expanded visa bond requirement reflects a wider effort by the administration to curb visa overstays and tighten control over temporary entry into the United States, even as debate continues over the policy’s economic and humanitarian implications.