On January 6, 2026, the administration added new countries to the visa bond list. You can read the rules heres- Federal Register :: Visas: Visa Bond Pilot Program
Here’s a summary of what you need to know:
What this rule does
- The State Department issued a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) creating a Visa Bond Pilot Program under INA § 221(g)(3).
- It lets consular officers require certain B-1/B-2 (business/tourist) visa applicants to post a Maintenance of Status and Departure Bond (“visa bond”) as a condition of visa issuance.
- The bond is meant to incentivize compliance: maintain status and depart the U.S. on time.
Why the government says it’s doing this
- Historically, State Department guidance discouraged using bonds because they’re “cumbersome” and could be misunderstood by the public.
- The rule argues that the “rarely use bonds” approach isn’t justified given longstanding data showing hundreds of thousands of annual nonimmigrant overstays.
- The pilot is designed primarily to test operational feasibility (how posting/processing/canceling bonds works in practice), and secondarily to study whether bonds reduce overstays or deter legitimate travel.
What triggered it politically/policy-wise
- The pilot responds to Executive Order 14159 (described in the text as directing Treasury, with State and DHS, to establish a system to facilitate administration of immigration bonds).
- The rule frames the program as part of a broader national security and foreign policy strategy targeting overstays and “deficient screening/vetting.”
Who will be affected
The pilot is limited to B-1/B-2 applicants who are nationals of countries the State Department identifies as meeting one or more of these criteria:
- High overstay rates (based on DHS overstay reporting),
- Deficient screening/vetting information, or
- Citizenship-by-Investment (CBI) cases with no residency requirement (where the applicant obtained citizenship without residing there).
State will publish the list of covered countries on travel.state.gov at least 15 days before the pilot takes effect, and can update it on a rolling basis (also with 15 days’ notice).
How much the bond will be
- Consular officers choose one of three standardized bond amounts: $5,000 / $10,000 / $15,000.
- Default is expected to be $10,000, with $5,000 if the person can’t reasonably pay $10,000 but can still fund the trip, and $15,000 if $10,000 seems insufficient to ensure timely departure.
- The rule ties these amounts loosely to government removal costs (citing an estimated enforcement lifecycle cost around $17K per removal).
How the bond is paid and held
- Bonds are posted through Pay.gov using Form I-352 (Immigration Bond).
- Treasury receives the money and holds it in a Treasury-held DHS account (described like an escrow arrangement), subject to directions for cancellation or breach.
Key practical constraints for travelers
- Visa issuance happens only after the bond is posted, and the visa will be:
- Single-entry, and
- Valid for entry within three months of issuance.
- Travel must be through pre-selected airports/ports (to support automatic exit confirmation). Those will also be announced on travel.state.gov.
- CBP will generally limit admission to 30 days for these bonded travelers (per the rule’s description).
What counts as compliance vs. breach
Bond is cancelled (refunded) if the traveler:
- Complies with status conditions (including no unauthorized work), and
- Departs on or before the authorized stay date; or
- Properly files a timely extension/change request, maintains status, and departs by the allowed/extended date.
Bond can be breached (forfeited) if the traveler:
- Violates status conditions,
- Files an unexcused late extension/change filing,
- Overstays, or
- Doesn’t depart within 10 days after a denial of a timely extension/change request.
How refunds work (and the “no interest” point)
- If the bond is cancelled, the payer gets a full refund.
- No interest accrues on the bond amount.
- If exit data doesn’t show up, travelers can request manual cancellation at a consular post outside the U.S. within 30 days of departure and provide proof of leaving (boarding pass, stamps, receipts, bank records, etc.).
Waivers are very limited
- There is no application process for travelers to request a waiver.
- The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services may waive the bond in limited circumstances (e.g., national interest/humanitarian), typically based on a consular officer recommendation.
Timing and scope
- The pilot runs 12 months, beginning August 20, 2025, and ending August 5, 2026 (as stated in the regulatory text).
- After it ends, consular officers stop requiring bonds under this pilot, but bonds already posted remain in effect until cancelled or breached.
Expected scale and stated costs (as estimated in the rule)
- State estimates around 2,000 applicants could be required to post bonds during the pilot.
- If the average bond is $10,000, that’s $20 million temporarily posted (assuming refunds for compliance).
- The government also estimates additional time burdens for travelers (paperwork + follow-up steps).
