State Department Makes Visa Bonds Permanent, Charging Visitors From Designated Countries Up to $20,000

The State Department published a final rule on Aug. 3, 2026 making permanent the visa bond program it launched as a 12-month pilot in August 2025 under Executive Order 14159. Effective immediately, consular officers may require B-1/B-2 business and tourist visa applicants who are nationals of designated non-Visa-Waiver countries to post a cash bond of $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000, with $15,000 the default. A bond is forfeited if the holder overstays — or if the holder files Form I-589 seeking asylum or other humanitarian protection.

The department's own figures describe the pilot: 50 countries covered, roughly 20,000 applicants required to post a bond, close to half declining to pay, about $115 million posted, and B-1/B-2 issuance from those countries down 83 percent over 10 months. The rule characterizes the reduced demand as an intended effect and the program as "a tool of diplomacy," while the asylum-filing forfeiture condition attaches a financial penalty to seeking a form of protection U.S. law otherwise provides.

The rule is final and in effect as of Aug. 3, 2026, with the maximum bond adjusting for inflation from Oct. 1, 2027. No litigation over it had been reported as of that date.