US may require visa applicants to post $15K bond to enter country. What we know
FILE-Passengers wait in line to use the Automated Passport Control Kiosks set up for international travelers arriving at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the U.S.
News of the potential plan comes as the Trump administration works to strengthen visa requirements for applicants.
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Meanwhile, the State Department recently announced that visa renewal applicants would have to submit to an additional in-person interview. The agency is also recommending that applicants for the Visa Diversity Lottery program have valid passports from their country of citizenship, according to the Associated Press.
How will the proposed visa application 15K bond plan work?
Why you should care:
According to a notice published in the Federal Register website on Tuesday, the State Department explained that 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 countries impacted by this requirement will be listed once the program is implemented, but the bond may be waived contingent on a visa applicant’s individual circumstances.
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Moreover, this bond would not apply to citizens of countries enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program, which allows travel for business or tourism for up to 90 days. The majority of the 42 countries in the program are in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
The Federal Register bond notice added that the program would also take effect within 15 days of its formal publication and is required to make sure the U.S. government is not financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the terms of their visa.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Federal Register website and the Associated Press. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.