The United States government has increasingly tightened its visa application protocols by incorporating seven additional countries into a list that mandates passport holders to submit a monetary bond when seeking entry visas. This recent augmentation has pushed the total to thirteen countries, with the majority located in Africa.
According to a formal update posted on the travel.state.gov platform, the enlargement of the list took effect on January 1. The newly added nations include Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, and Turkmenistan. This move forms part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to reinforce border security and immigration control across all nations requiring visas for entry into the United States.
Individuals from these listed countries must now post bonds ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 when applying for US visas. The State Department asserts that this policy effectively ensures that applicants adhere to visa terms and limits overstaying. Payment of the bond does not guarantee issuance of a visa; instead, bonds are returned either if the visa is denied or if the visa holder abides by the visa conditions throughout their stay in the US.
Prior to this most recent update, six countries - Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Gambia, Malawi, and Zambia - were subjected to the bond requirement after additions made in the latter half of the previous year. This layered approach reflects a consistent increase in efforts to supplement visa screening with financial assurances from applicants deemed at a higher risk of violating visa stipulations.
In parallel to the bond mandates, the current administration has also implemented other visa policy changes including mandatory in-person interviews for applicants from all visa-requiring countries. Additional scrutiny has been introduced involving the collection of extensive personal data, such as applicants' social media history over several years and detailed accounts of their residential and travel backgrounds as well as those of their family members.
The cumulative impact of these newly instated requirements poses challenges for citizens from these countries, potentially affecting the cost and accessibility of US visas and thereby possibly influencing international travel and related sectors.