The U.S. Department of State made the bail program for tourist and business visas a permanent immigration policy this Saturday, increasing the maximum deposit to $20,000 and keeping Cuba among the 50 affected countries, according to a report by the AP agency.
The regulation will be officially published on Monday in the Federal Register—the official diary of the U.S. government—on that date it will formally come into effect, and from that point on, Cuban citizens and citizens of designated countries applying for a B1 or B2 visa may be required to post a bond before receiving the visa.
From pilot to permanent policy
The program was launched on August 20, 2025, as a 12-month pilot plan, ordered by Donald Trump through Executive Order 14159, and initially covered only 13 countries with high overstay rates.
Cuba was added to the list in January 2026, along with Venezuela and other countries in the Caribbean, Asia, and Latin America, when the program expanded from 13 to 38 countries.
In April of that same year, a new expansion added 12 more nations—including Nicaragua, Georgia, Ethiopia, and Cambodia—bringing the total to the current fifty.
The draft published in the Federal Register indicates that a review lasting almost a year "provided sufficient data" to indicate that the program "effectively ensures compliance with visa conditions," which is why it will become permanent.
Three levels of bail and key restrictions
The permanent regulation removes the minimum option of $5,000 that the pilot program included, and establishes three deposit levels at the discretion of the consular officer: 10,000, 15,000 or 20,000 dollars.
The notice from the Federal Register specifies that “consular officers may require applicants for non-immigrant visas to deposit a bond of up to $20,000 as a condition for the issuance of the visa, as determined by the consular officers themselves.”
Payment must be made exclusively through Pay.gov, the platform of the Department of the Treasury; the use of third-party sites is prohibited.
A critical point that the regulation explicitly clarifies is: the deposit of the bond does not guarantee the issuance of the visa.
Moreover, visa holders with a bond will only be allowed to enter and exit the United States through commercial airports; private air, land, or sea ports are prohibited.
The deposit is refunded if the visa is denied, if the applicant does not travel before the visa expires, or if the holder fulfills all conditions and departs the country within the authorized timeframe.
The numbers that justified the measure
In 2024, nearly 45,500 visitors from the 50 countries included in the program overstayed the duration allowed by their visas, according to data from the State Department cited by the Associated Press.
In the first ten months of the pilot program, that figure dropped to less than 50 cases.
However, the most noticeable effect was another: nearly half of the 20,000 applications that required a deposit did not complete the payment, resulting in a 83% drop in B1/B2 visa issuance for the affected countries, with a total deposited amount of 115 million dollars during the pilot.
The State Department acknowledged the deterrent impact: "The department hopes that this final rule will contribute to the ongoing reduction in the demand for B1/B2 visa applications from citizens of countries subject to the program."
Another barrier for Cubans
For the citizens of the island, this measure adds to a series of restrictions that have been accumulating since 2025.
In June of that year, Trump signed a proclamation that suspended the entry of Cubans with B-1, B-2, F, M, and J visas. In December 2025, he expanded the so-called "travel ban" by adding 20 more countries.
The Trump administration is also considering requiring a bond of $100,000 from certain applicants for permanent residency processed from abroad, a measure still under evaluation. For many Cubans who already face economic and bureaucratic hurdles to emigrate legally, gathering up to $20,000 without a guarantee of obtaining the visa represents a practically insurmountable barrier.
The 50 affected countries: Mainly African and some Latin American
Africa (30 countries)
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burundi
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Ivory Coast
Djibouti
Ethiopia
Gabón
Gambia
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Lesotho
Malawi
Mauritania
Mauricio
Mozambique
Namibia
Nigeria
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Asia and Central Asia (9 countries)
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Cambodia
Georgia
Kyrgyz Republic
Mongolia
Nepal
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Latin America and the Caribbean (6 countries)
Antigua and Barbuda
Cuba
Dominica
Granada
Nicaragua
Venezuela
Oceania and the Pacific (5 countries)
Fiyi
Papua New Guinea
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
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