The State Department is adding 12 countries to a list of nations whose citizens must post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply for a U.S. visa.
“The State Department is expanding its visa bond program to apply to a total of 50 countries on April 2 and will require foreign nationals from these countries to post a bond of $15,000 before receiving B1 or B2 visas for business and tourism in the United States,” the State Department announced.
“The bond will be returned to visa recipients who return home in compliance with the terms of the visa and the bond or does not travel,” it continued.
“The new countries included in the visa bond program are Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia,” the release stated.
BREAKING: The State Department announced it’s adding 12 MORE countries to its Visa Bond Program, which imposes an additional $15,000 fee to obtain a U.S. Visa.
These new countries include:
-Cambodia
-Ethiopia
-Georgia
-Grenada
-Lesotho
-Mauritius
-Mongolia
-Mozambique
-Nicaragua… pic.twitter.com/IFfBAPH0RR— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 18, 2026
“These countries join 38 nations that are already included in the visa bond program. Those countries 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,” it continued.
More from the Associated Press:
Under the program, visa applicants from designated countries, many of which are in Africa, which have high overstay rates, have to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 depending on their circumstances and the discretion of the consular officer processing the application.
“The visa bond program has already proven effective at drastically reducing the number of visa recipients who overstay their visas and illegally remain in the United States,” the department said, adding that almost 97% of the nearly 1,000 people to have posted the bond had not overstayed their visa.
“The State Department is keeping America’s borders secure and preventing visa overstays,” the State Department wrote on X.
“Nationals from 50 countries will soon be required to provide a $15,000 bond for business and tourist visas – returned to those who comply with their visa terms and return home on time,” it added.
The State Department is keeping America’s borders secure and preventing visa overstays.
Nationals from 50 countries will soon be required to provide a $15,000 bond for business and tourist visas – returned to those who comply with their visa terms and return home on time. pic.twitter.com/SewS69b0Pb
— Department of State (@StateDept) March 18, 2026
The Department of State wrote:
By contrast, in Biden’s last year in office, more than 44,000 visitors from the 50 current Visa Bonds countries overstayed.
The State Department’s April 2 action will apply the visa bond policy to 12 additional nations.
The Department may continue to place Visa Bonds on countries based on a range of immigration risk factors.
The expanded visa bond program saves the American taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
It costs the U.S. taxpayer over $18,000 on average to remove an alien illegally present in the United States.
The Department of State is saving U.S. taxpayers up to $800 million per year that would otherwise be required to remove these aliens who overstay.