The US Department of State (DASH) has proposed that applicants for business and tourist visas submit a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States.
In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the State Department said it will launch a 12-month pilot program under which people from countries deemed to have high rates of illegal overstays and deficiencies in internal document control could be required to post a $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 bond when applying for a visa.
The proposal comes as the Trump administration is tightening requirements for visa applicants.
Last week, the State Department announced that many visa renewal applicants will have to undergo an additional in-person interview, which was not previously required.
In addition, the State Department is proposing that applicants for the Visa Lottery program have valid passports from their country of citizenship.
A summary of the notice of the guarantee, which was published on the Federal Register website on Monday, highlights that the testing program will take effect within 15 days of official publication and is necessary to ensure that the US government is not held financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the terms of his or her visa.
"Foreigners applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department as having high rates of visa violations, deficiencies in information for verification and control, or that offer citizenship by investment, if such citizenship is obtained without a requirement for residency, may become subject to the testing program," the announcement states.
It is also said that the countries affected will be listed once the program comes into effect.
This guarantee will not apply to citizens of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program and may be waived for others depending on the individual circumstances of the applicant.
Visa guarantees have been proposed before, but have not been implemented.
The State Department has traditionally discouraged this request due to the complicated process of depositing and returning the bond, as well as the misperceptions it can create among the public.
However, the department said this previous position “is not supported by any recent examples or evidence, as visa guarantees have not been generally required in any recent period.” REL (A2 Televizion)
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