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The US will propose some tourist and business visa applicants post a bond of up to $15,000 as part of an effort to clamp down on visitors who overstay their authorisation, the government said on Monday.
The Department of State said the year-long pilot programme would begin on August 20 and would target individuals from countries where a high number of people overstay their visas.
The move marks a further expansion of the administration’s anti-immigration policies, which were a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s campaign platform.
The government notice said those who could be subject to the programme included “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”.
Consular officers will have three options for bond amounts — $5,000, $10,000 and $15,000 — but will be expected to set the bond amount at $10,000.
In June, Trump banned citizens of 12 countries from entering the US, in an action that evoked the “Muslim ban” he implemented in his first term.
The list of countries that fall under the visa programme will be published on the state department’s website, and may be amended while the pilot takes place.
Trump’s first administration established a six-month visa bond pilot programme in 2020, but it was not rolled out because of the global reduction in travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the state department.
The new scheme was a response to an executive order Trump signed on the day he re-entered office in January, titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion”, the department said.
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The order directs the secretary of the Treasury, alongside the secretaries of state and homeland security, to “establish a system to facilitate the administration of all bonds” under the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The state department described the programme as a “tool of diplomacy”, adding that it was “intended to encourage foreign governments to take immediate action to reduce the overstay rates of their nationals when travelling to the United States for temporary visits”.