Tourists visiting the US could have to pay a deposit of up to almost £11,300 ($15,000) to enter the country under new plans put forward by the Trump administration. The State Department said a 12-month pilot is set to be launched and it comes amid Washington’s tightening of requirements for visa applicants.
Under the proposals, visitors — including those on business trips — from countries deemed to have high overstay rates and deficient internal document security controls could be required to post bonds of £3,765 ($5,000), £7,531 ($10,000) or £11,297 ($15,000) when they apply for a visa. A preview of the bond notice, posted on a US government website on Monday, said the trial would start within 15 days of formal publication. It added it is necessary to ensure that the US government is not financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the terms of their visa.
The notice on the Federal Register said: “Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are 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, may be subject to the pilot program.”
It said the countries affected by the proposals will be listed once the programme takes effect and that the bond could be waived depending on an applicant’s individual circumstances.
The bond would not apply to citizens of countries enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program, which enables travel for business or tourism for up to 90 days.
The majority of the 42 countries enrolled in the programme are in Europe — including the UK — with others in Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere.
Visa bonds have previously been proposed by the US but not implemented.
The State Department has typically put off the requirement because of the arduous process of posting and discharging a bond and because of possible misperceptions by the public.
The department argued that the previous view “is not supported by any recent examples or evidence, as visa bonds have not generally been required in any recent period.”
It comes a week after the US announced many visa renewal applicants would need to undergo an additional in-person interview.
The interview has not been required in the past and is part of Donald Trump’s strengthening of visa requirements.
