The Trump administration is nearly tripling the number of countries whose passport holders will be required to post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply to enter the United States.
Less than a week after adding seven countries to the list of nations subject to visa bonds, the State Department added 25 more Tuesday.
The bond requirement for the latest additions will take effect Jan. 21, according to a notice posted on the travel.state.gov website.
The move means that 38 countries, most of them in Africa but some in Latin America and Asia, are now on the list, which makes the process of obtaining a U.S. visa unaffordable for many.
It’s the latest effort by the Trump administration to tighten requirements for entry to the U.S., including requiring citizens from all countries that require visas to sit for in-person interviews and disclose years of social media histories as well as detailed accounts of their and their families’ previous travel and living arrangements.
U.S. officials have defended the bonds, which can range from $5,000 up to $15,000, maintaining they are effective in ensuring that citizens of targeted countries do not overstay their visas.
Payment of the bond does not guarantee a visa will be granted, but the amount will be refunded if the visa is denied or when a visa holder demonstrates they have complied with the terms of visa.
The new countries covered by the visa bond requirement as of Jan. 21 are Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
They join Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Turkmenistan and Zambia on the list.
“Any citizen or national traveling on a passport issued by one of these countries, who is found otherwise eligible for a B1/B2 visa, must post a bond for $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000,” the State Department wrote on its website.
“The amount is determined at the time of the visa interview. The applicant must also submit a Department of Homeland Security Form I-352. Applicants must agree to the terms of the bond through the Department of the Treasury’s online payment platform Pay.gov. This requirement applies regardless of place of application.”
The State Department said visa holders will also be required to enter and exit the United States through designated ports of entry otherwise they may face a denied entry or a departure that is not properly recorded.
The ports of entry include Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).
