The U.S. Department of State permanently establishes as of this Monday the mandatory bond program for obtaining tourist and business visas, with amounts that can reach up to $20,000.
EFE reported that the measure affects nationals from around 50 countries, including Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Grenada as the only four from the Americas included in the list.
The regulation was published on August 1 in the Federal Register and came into effect on Monday, August 3, 2026. Consular officials will have the authority to set the amount required from each applicant at $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000, depending on the circumstances of the case.
The money must be paid before processing the B-1/B-2 tourist or business visa. The U.S. government indicated that the funds will be jointly managed by the Department of the Treasury and the Department of State. They will be returned to the traveler once they leave the country within the timeframe authorized by their visa.
The Trump administration presents the measure as a tool to curb the overstaying of visitors, that is, the practice of remaining in U.S. territory longer than allowed.
Cuba recorded a 17.08% overstay rate in fiscal year 2023, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security, which justified its inclusion in the program.
The program was launched as a pilot on August 20, 2025, with 13 countries and amounts ranging from $5,000 to $15,000.
Cuba and Venezuela were added to the list on January 21, 2026, and Nicaragua joined on April 2 of that same year. The permanent rule removes the minimum amount of $5,000 that was in place during the pilot program and raises the ceiling to $20,000.
The results from the first year of the program, according to the State Department, show that approximately 20,000 applications were identified that required a bond, and nearly half chose to abandon the process and not apply for the visa.
Additionally, the program resulted in a decline of 83% in tourism and business visas granted in the affected countries.
Among those who did pay the bond and traveled, 97% returned to their country within the authorized timeframe. In the first ten months of the pilot program, there were less than 50 overstays recorded among travelers from those countries, compared to nearly 45,500 in 2024.
Most of the affected countries are African—about 30 out of 50 included—which has led to criticism from migrant advocacy organizations. These groups argue that the bail requirements "create an economic barrier to legal entry into the U.S. and particularly harm citizens from poor, predominantly Black countries."
The bail payment must be made exclusively through the official portal Pay.gov, without intermediaries.
The complete list of countries subject to the program is published on Travel.State.gov and may be modified with at least 15 days' notice, which leaves open the possibility of new countries being added in the future.
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