US Travel Industry Raises Alarm Over Possible Expansion of Visa Bond Rules

The US travel industry is warning that a broader application of the Trump administration’s visa bond policy could discourage international visitors and hurt the country’s economy.

The concern comes after the US Department of State made permanent a programme that allows consular officers to demand refundable bonds from certain tourist and business visa applicants from 50 countries. The bonds can reach $20,000 under the programme described by Reuters.

Geoff Freeman, president of the US Travel Association, said there were indications that the requirement could eventually be extended to more countries, potentially covering all nations whose citizens require US visas.

“There are already rumblings of expanding this program to additional countries where visas are required, perhaps all countries where visas are required,” Freeman told Reuters.

He warned that such an expansion could have an “extraordinarily detrimental effect” on the US economy and travel industry.

The administration, however, points to results from the programme’s pilot phase, saying visa issuances from the affected countries fell by 83% during its first 10 months. Reported overstays also dropped sharply, from 45,488 in fiscal 2024 to fewer than 50 during the pilot period.

Most of the countries currently covered are in Africa, with others across Asia, the Caribbean, Central Asia and Latin America. Nigeria is among the countries listed by the State Department as subject to visa bonds.

The administration says the policy targets countries with high visa-overstay rates or shortcomings in information-sharing, vetting and document security.