The US will ask for up to $15,000 deposit from some tourism visa applicants

Miami (USA).- The United States Government announced this Monday that it will request a deposit of up to $15,000 for applicants of tourism visas from countries with high rates of people who exceed their authorized stay in the country. The State Department published a notice in the Federal Register about the upcoming start of a 12-month pilot program for foreigners applying for B-1/B-2 visas, reserved for business or pleasure, although it indicated that it will publish the list of affected countries later.

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"Consular officers could require nonimmigrant visa applicants to pay a bond of up to $15,000 as a condition for visa issuance", states the official document. The program estimates that around 2,000 applicants will face the payment of an average bond of $10,000 during the pilot program and that, after demonstrating that they will not remain in the United States, foreigners could obtain a full refund of the money. The administration of President Donald Trump justified the measure by estimating that more than 500,000 people in fiscal year 2023, the most recent data, exceeded the duration of their visas. With the program, "the Department sends a message to all countries to take immediate actions to encourage their citizens to comply with US immigration law and address insufficient identity and criminal background checks," argues the document.

This bond is added to the cost increase for visas approved in July in Trump's 'great and beautiful law', such as the 'visa integrity fee', of at least 250 dollars for permits for all foreigners entering the country as visitors.

The United States issued nearly 11 million non-immigrant visas in 2024, according to figures from the State Department. Trump's law also imposes increases in the value of other requests, because for the first time migrants must not only pay a fee to apply for asylum, set at 100 dollars, but also an additional price of 100 dollars each year that the application is pending resolution.