Twelve more nations will be added to a US visa deposit program that requires applicants to pay $15,000 upfront before receiving certain short-term visas, the State Department announced Wednesday.
The expansion brings the total number of countries covered under the so-called “visa bond program” to 50, with the additions set to take effect on April 2. The newly included nations are Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia.
The program targets B-category visas — covering both tourism and business travel — and was introduced as part of the Trump administration’s broader push to reduce illegal immigration by targeting visa overstays. Applicants subject to the requirement must post the deposit before a visa is issued; it is refunded if they depart the US within the allowed period. Those who remain past their authorized stay forfeit the full amount.
According to a State Department fact sheet, close to 1,000 foreigners have been issued visas under the program since its launch, with 97 percent of those travelers departing the US on time.
The 38 countries already enrolled in the program span Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and Latin America, and include Nigeria, Venezuela, Bangladesh, Cuba, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, among others.
The full list of 38 previously covered nations: Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
