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In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday,
the department said it would start a 12-month pilot program
under which people from countries deemed to have high overstay
rates and deficient internal document security controls could be
required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when they
apply for a visa.
The proposal comes as the Trump administration is tightening
requirements for visa applicants. Last week, the State
Department announced that many visa renewal applicants would
have to submit to an additional in-person interview, something
that was not required in the past. In addition, the department
is proposing that applicants for the Visa Diversity Lottery
program have valid passports from their country of citizenship.
A preview of the bond notice, which was posted on the Federal
Register website on Monday, said the pilot program would take
effect within 15 days of its formal publication and is necessary
to ensure that the U.S. government is not financially liable if
a visitor does not comply with the terms of his or her visa.
“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
program,” the notice said.
The countries affected will be listed once the program takes
effect, it said. The bond could be waived depending on an
applicant's individual circumstances.
The bond would not apply to citizens of countries enrolled in
the Visa Waiver Program, which enables travel for business or
tourism for up to 90 days. The majority of the 42 countries
enrolled in the program are in Europe, with others in Asia, the
Middle East and elsewhere.
Visa bonds have been proposed in the past but have not been
implemented. The State Department has traditionally discouraged
the requirement because of the cumbersome process of posting and
discharging a bond and because of a possible misperceptions by
the public.
However, the department said that previous view “is not
supported by any recent examples or evidence, as visa bonds have
not generally been required in any recent period.”
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