WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2026: The United States has finalized a rule to make its visa bond program permanent, allowing consular officers to require certain non-immigrant visa applicants from designated countries to post bonds of up to $20,000 as a condition for receiving a U.S. visa.
The policy was announced in a notice published online in the Federal Register on Friday and is scheduled to take effect upon its official publication on August 3.
Under the new regulation, the requirement applies to applicants seeking B-1 (business) and B-2 (tourist) visas from 50 designated countries, the majority of which are in Africa.
The State Department said the bond requirement will not be mandatory for all applicants. Instead, consular officers will have the discretion to determine whether an individual applicant should be required to post a bond based on the circumstances of the case.
According to the rule, the maximum bond amount has been increased to $20,000, replacing the previous pilot framework that allowed bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000. The new regulation eliminates the $5,000 option altogether.
The State Department said the decision follows the evaluation of the 2025 Visa Bond Pilot Program, which was implemented in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Officials said data gathered during the pilot program indicated that a bond-based system could serve as an effective tool to encourage compliance with U.S. visa conditions and reduce the risk of visitors overstaying their authorized period of stay.
The permanent program will cover 50 countries, including 30 African nations, though the Federal Register notice did not immediately provide further details on the full list of participating countries.
The move marks a significant expansion of U.S. immigration enforcement measures aimed at strengthening compliance with temporary visa regulations while giving consular officers greater flexibility in assessing potential immigration risks.