WASHINGTON — The State Department is set to launch a new pilot program later this month that will require foreign visitors planning travel to the U.S. from certain countries to post bonds of up to $15,000, according to a temporary final rule published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.
The program, scheduled to begin Aug. 20 and last until Aug. 5, 2026, will specifically apply to people in certain foreign countries applying for B-1 or B-2 visas for business or tourist travel to the United States. Each of those visas allows for a maximum stay of six months, though extensions are permitted in some cases.
The Trump administration said the program's purpose is to reduce visa overstays in the U.S. and is a direct response to President Donald Trump's January executive order "Protecting The American People Against Invasion."
“The Pilot Program is a tool of diplomacy, intended to encourage foreign governments to take immediate action to reduce the overstay rates of their nationals when traveling to the United States for temporary visits, and to encourage countries to improve screening and vetting and the security of travel and civil documents, including in the granting of citizenship,” the rule said.
Visa applicants will be required to provide a bond of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 as a condition of it being issued, and the amount will be determined by consular officers based on each person's circumstances. This can include, the administration said, "any information provided by the visa applicant on the visa application or in the visa interview regarding the alien’s purpose of travel, current employment, income, skills, and education."
These requirements will only apply to countries that the State Department identifies as having records of high visa overstay rates, based on data collected by the Department of Homeland Security. The State Department announced Tuesday that the program will first apply to visa applicants from Malawi and Zambia. The list of countries can be amended throughout the program, according to the rule.
The State Department said that these visa holders from Malawi and Zambia will have to arrive and depart from one of three points of entry: Boston Logan International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.
It wasn’t immediately clear why Malawi and Zambia were chosen for the program, as the latest DHS overstay report from fiscal year 2023 listed Chad, Laos and Haiti as being among the countries that have the highest visa overstay rates. Altogether, an estimated 500,000 people admitted to the U.S. during that period stayed past their visa expiration dates.
The State Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This targeted common-sense measure reinforces the administration’s commitment to U.S. immigration law while deterring visa overstays,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters at the news briefing Tuesday.
If visa applicants who are required to submit bonds comply with the terms and conditions and don't overstay their visa, for example, they are entitled to full refunds. Those who violate any of the conditions will have to forfeit the bond amount.
The pilot program comes as the Trump administration has been transforming the federal government's immigration and visa rules for months. Under the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act, for example, visitors to the U.S. will need to pay a "visa integrity fee" on top of additional visa fees.
