The US has made its visa bond permanent: now $10,000 to $20,000 per person

In brief

• The bond applies to B-1/B-2 applicants who are nationals of countries on the State Department list.
• Amounts: $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000. A consul chooses at the interview, and you cannot pay in advance.
• Payment is electronic, in dollars, through a US Treasury platform, with no interest.
• Entry and final departure are through commercial airports only.
• Leave on time and the money comes back. Stay past your authorised period and the whole bond is forfeited.

In a year the bond became a filter

The first-year report is more interesting than the amounts. The State Department published it in the final rule (Federal Register document 2026-15726), and the figures explain why the programme is here to stay.

Read this table with care. Fewer than 50 overstays against 45,488 looks like a miracle, but it compares a partial period with a full year, and 83% fewer visas were issued. The main result lies elsewhere: only close to half of those told to post a bond chose to pay. Without a bond no visa is issued, so for many applicants the bond became a refusal by other means.

The amount itself did not rise by chance. The government puts the cost of removing one person at about $18,042, and the agency cites that estimate in justifying the bond levels. From 1 October 2027, and then every seven years, the maximum will be reviewed for inflation. There was no public comment before adoption: the State Department used the foreign affairs exception. It can change the terms and the list quickly.

Where the list comes from: Homeland Security figures

The programme grew out of overstay statistics, which the rule sets out. For B-1/B-2 visas, excluding nationals of Mexico, Canada and Visa Waiver countries, the figures look like this:

Note the last two rows. The gap between 2.06% and 0.44% explains the logic of the whole system: a country pays for the statistics of its nationals, and an individual can only change that through the document they travel on. The criteria also include information sharing and criminal record checks, so a country's removal from the list depends on its authorities, not on applicants.

What changed on 3 August

The pilot ran from 20 August 2025 and was planned for 12 months. The final rule took effect on publication and removed the cheap option.

Figures in material written before August 2026 are out of date. There is no waiver application: the Assistant Secretary of State may lift the requirement for a person, country or category, and a consul can only recommend it in limited circumstances, such as an urgent humanitarian trip.

A consul sets the amount, and preparation is worth $5,000

The rule spells out the logic. The default is $15,000. A consul sets $10,000 if the applicant cannot post $15,000 but has enough for the trip. A consul sets $20,000 if ties to home do not sufficiently show the person will return. The consul looks at purpose of travel, employment, income, skills and education.

The practical conclusion: interview documents now affect the price as well as the visa decision. The gap between $15,000 and $20,000 is $5,000 per person, held without interest until you get home. Beyond the required passport, DS-160 page and appointment confirmation, bring an employment letter or business documents, income statements, family and property papers, and a trip outline with a return ticket.

Separately, prepare your answer on the bond money: where it comes from, who is paying, which account it is in. A relative or partner may pay, but you need to be able to explain this and back it with proof of the source of funds. We assemble the package through our document services.

Who it applies to: your passport decides

The bond is tied to the nationality of the passport you apply on. Applying from another country does not remove it. The pilot covered 50 countries, all of which kept the requirement on the rule's effective date. Countries are chosen by overstay rates in Department of Homeland Security reports, and by the quality of information sharing and document checks. Visa Waiver Program members are not listed.

The current list is at travel.state.gov. A new country is added with 15 days' notice, and a removal applies at once, so check it on the day you file. If you hold two passports, compare both in advance: one may be covered and the other not.

For anyone choosing a second citizenship with the US in mind, we have separate reviews: the Vanuatu passport and the B1/B2 visa and the Argentine passport and the US. The BRIDGES Passport Index and our country comparison give the overall picture.

You pay only after the consul says so, and only one way

A third-party site offering to post the bond for you has nothing to do with the programme. The bond itself guarantees neither a visa nor entry: the decision at the border, and the period of stay, rest with border officers. A business visitor gets a year at most.

The money comes back on two conditions

There are two conditions: leave on time, and leave through a commercial airport. The other situations are in the table.

A cruise or a final exit by road will not do. A short trip to adjacent territories is possible under automatic visa revalidation, but you must ultimately fly out of the US. Keep boarding passes and airline receipts until you are paid: the rule gives no refund period in days. The money returns to the original form of payment, so keep that card and account open, and if a relative paid, settling up with them is on you. The amount may be reduced by offset if the payer owes a debt to the US federal government.

The costliest mistakes happen once you are in the US. A timely, approved extension or change of status is not a breach. But after a denial you get 10 days to leave, and an asylum application breaches the bond conditions at once. Immigration authorities may also treat the bond itself as a negative factor in your applications. If a trip falls through, you can request a consular appointment to cancel an unused visa, or the refund comes after it expires. The Department of Homeland Security decides on a breach, and any dispute is best taken up at once and with a lawyer.

What the rule says directly and where it is silent

Some answers are in the rule, and they favour the applicant. If a consul refuses the visa after payment, the bond is cancelled and the money returned. The agency estimates about 30 minutes to complete Form I-352, and the payer receives a copy and all later notices. The whole amount must be paid at once, and ensuring that is the applicant's sole responsibility.

Other questions stay open, and it is better to know them in advance:

• How many days a refund takes. No term is given.
• Whether the next visa needs a new bond. There is no direct answer, but a bond is tied to a specific visa and ends with it, so plan on a new one if your country stays listed.
• What applies to children. There are no special rules for minors or families.
• What happens on the payer's death, force majeure or a move to permanent status. The document does not cover these.

Where the rule is silent we do not promise an answer in advance: the consulate decides, and in a dispute the Department of Homeland Security. So before paying, keep the consul's notice and put your questions in writing.

For a family, it starts at $40,000

The rule describes the bond individually, with no family amount or child discount. Plan per person, and the consul will name the exact figure. Add the application fee of $185 per person.

The money comes back, but from payment to refund it is frozen and earns nothing. For a one-off trip a family can usually afford that. For frequent travellers the bond becomes permanently tied-up capital, and it is worth working out another route.

What frozen money really costs

If all conditions are met, the bond returns in full, and the programme's true price is the income forgone on that sum. It is simple to work out. As an example we use an illustrative 4% a year: substitute your own figure.

A one-off month-long trip costs hundreds of dollars in forgone income, which is small next to the risk of losing the whole sum. A one-year multiple-entry visa changes the calculation: the bond is tied to the visa, while the refund condition is tied to departure. For repeat trips, ask the consulate when exactly your bond closes, and treat the money as tied up for the whole visa. The main risk then is not lost income but a mistake with dates that costs $15,000 or $20,000.

This calculation is easy to make in advance, and it shows what is better for you: paying a bond every few years or changing the basis of your travel.

What changes next and how to prepare

The programme is now permanent, but its terms are not frozen. The dates are already visible: the first review of the maximum is set for 1 October 2027, and the list of countries can change at any time on 15 days' notice.

If you need a US trip in the coming year, it is wiser to apply on the current terms than to wait: none of the announced dates lowers the amount. Check your country, set aside dollars in an account that can pay electronically, and prepare documents on work, income and ties to home. These steps take weeks, while the bond is a single payment.

Our position is simple: the bond is a price for access that can be calculated, not a reason to give up a trip. For one-off travel it is acceptable if you keep to the dates and the route. For regular travel and business it is better value to solve the matter once with another document and stop holding money on deposit in the US. This calculation depends on your goal, how often you travel and your family, so we do it for each applicant separately. The amount in the consul's notice becomes the last figure in the calculation, not the first.

The easiest place to start is three questions: how many US trips you plan over three years, who will travel with you and whether you need a business there. The answers quickly show what is better value, a bond, an E-2 visa or another passport, and how much money will be frozen. You can decide on those figures before any consular interview, with nothing paid.

When another document is better value

If you do business in the US, a working route is the E-2 investor visa, which needs a passport from a treaty country. We have covered the E-2 through Grenada and the E-2 through Turkey. For living in the US there is the EB-5 green card, with a different budget and logic.

For everyone else the question goes beyond one country. A strong second passport is valued for its whole range: the Vanuatu programme is the start of a European path, and a US visa is handled as a separate task. Other US travel terms come with Argentine, Grenadian and Turkish citizenship. We can match a route to your trips at an online consultation.

How this article was prepared

Prepared on 3 November 2026. Sources: the US Department of State final rule "Visas: Visa Bond Program", Federal Register, document 2026-15726, 3 August 2026; the visa section of the US Department of State. The State Department publishes the list of countries, which may change, so check it before filing.