The Trump administration has significantly expanded a policy that requires certain foreign visitors to pay a hefty security deposit before entering the United States, nearly tripling the number of countries affected by the rule.
After adding seven nations to the visa bond programme just days earlier, the US State Department announced on Tuesday that 25 additional countries would now be included, as per a report by news agency AP.
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According to a notice published on the department’s official travel website, the new requirements will come into force on January 21.
With this expansion, passport holders from 38 countries, predominantly in Africa, along with several in Latin America and Asia, may now be required to post a bond of as much as 15,000 dollars when applying for a US visa. Critics said the policy places the visa process far beyond the financial reach of many applicants, according to the report.
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{{/usCountry}}The change is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to impose stricter entry controls. Other measures already in place include mandatory in-person visa interviews, extensive disclosure of social media activity spanning several years, and detailed information about applicants’ travel histories and living arrangements, as well as those of their family members.
US officials argued that the bond system, which ranges from 5,000 dollars to 15,000 dollars, helps discourage visitors from overstaying their visas. Authorities emphasize that the payment functions as a compliance guarantee rather than a fee.
Posting a bond does not ensure visa approval. However, applicants are entitled to a refund if their visa is rejected or once they can prove they have followed all visa conditions.
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The countries newly added to the bond requirement include Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cote D’Ivorie, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
These nations join an existing list that already includes Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Turkmenistan and Zambia.
(With inputs from AP)