United States | 13 countries now subject to State Department’s visa bond requirements

As of Dec. 17, the State Department has updated its list of countries subject to visa bond requirements under the Temporary Final Rule Visa Bond Pilot Program, authorized by the Immigration and Nationality Act Section 221(g)(3), to include seven additional countries (Bhutan, Botswana, Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan) with implementation dates of Jan. 1, 2026.

Key Points:

• The current list of foreign nationals from their respective countries required to post visa bonds when applying for B-1/B-2 visitor visas with the following implementation dates includes:
  • Bhutan (Jan. 1, 2026)
  • Botswana (Jan. 1, 2026)
  • Central African Republic (Jan. 1, 2026)
  • Guinea (Jan. 1, 2026)
  • Guinea Bissau (Jan. 1, 2026)
  • Namibia (Jan. 1, 2026)
  • Turkmenistan (Jan. 1, 2026)
  • Mauritania (Oct. 23, 2025)
  • Sao Tome and Principe (Oct. 23, 2025)
  • Tanzania (Oct. 23, 2025)
  • The Gambia (Oct. 11, 2025)
  • Malawi (Aug. 20, 2025)
  • Zambia (Aug. 20, 2025)
• Visa applicants who are found eligible for a B-1/B-2 visa, but who are subject to the visa bond pilot program, will be required to pay a bond in the amount of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000.

Additional Information: The launch of the visa bond pilot program was announced in August. The pilot will run for 12 months from Aug. 20, 2025, until Aug. 5, 2026. More details on the bond payment process, required ports of entry, visa bond compliance and visa bond breach can be found here. During the pilot, there will not be a waiver application process.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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