JUST IN: US Govt To Begin Visa Bonds For 23 Countries Excluding Nigeria

The United States Government has disclosed that it will start a six month visa bond program for nationals from 23 countries.

“By establishing the Pilot Program, the U.S Govermment focuses on travelers who are nationals of: Afghanistan, Angola, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Buma, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa), Djibouti, Eritrea, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Laos, Liberia, Libya, Mauritania, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen,” the US Department of State notified in a statement on Monday, obtained by THE WHISTLER.

The Pilot Program is slated to run for six months, from December 24 through June 24, 2021.

Visa applicants under the program would be requested to post a bond in the amount of $5,000, S10,000, or $15,000 as a condition for visa.

According to the US States Department, the immigration policy, among other privileges, is geared towards instilling discipline in cross-country movements.

The notice reads in part:

“This temporary final rule provides for a U.S. Department of State (Department) visa bond pilot program (Pilot Program) with specified parameters.

“The purpose of the Pilot Program is to assess the operational feasibility of posting, processing and discharging visa bonds, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to help assess the burden on government agencies and identify any practical challenges related to visa bonds.

“The Pilot Program does not aim to assess whether issuing visa bonds will be effective in reducing the number of aliens who overstay their temporary business visitor/tourist (B-1/B-2) visa.

“Visa applicants potentially subject to the Pilot Program include aliens who: are applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure (B-1/B-2), are from countries with high visa overstay rates; and already have been approved by DHS for an inadmissibility waiver.

“Because this is a visa bond program, aliens traveling under the Visa Waiver Program fall outside the scope of the Pilot Program, as those travelers do not apply for visas.

“The Pilot Program is designed to apply to nationals of specified countries with high overstay rates to serve as a diplomatic tool to encourage foreign governments to take all appropriate actions to ensure their nationals timely depart the United States after making temporary visits.

“The Pilot Program will run for six months. During that period, consular officers may require nonimmigrant visa applicants falling within the scope of the Pilot Program to post a bond in the amount of $5,000, S10,000, or $15,000 as a condition of visa issuance.

“By focusing the Pilot Program on certain countries identified in the DHS FY 2019 Overstay Report as having overstay rates of ten percent or higher among aliens admitted to the United States for business or pleasure (B-1/B-2) via air and sea ports of entry, the U.S. Government sends a message to all countries that high overstay rates may result in measures that negatively affect broad categories of their nationals, thereby encouraging countries to take action to encourage their nationals to comply with U.S. immigration law.”