38 Countries Still Face Up to $15,000 Visa Bonds Under State Department Pilot

(UNITED STATES) — The U.S. Department of State has not expanded the B-1/B-2 visa bond pilot program this week, but a March 18, 2026 update set 12 additional countries for inclusion on April 2, 2026, lifting the total from 38 to 50.

That distinction matters for travelers from affected nations. Online claims pointed to an immediate rollout as of March 18, 2026, but the program remained at 38 countries on Thursday, March 19, 2026.

Consular officers can require refundable bonds of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 from selected B-1/B-2 applicants. Travelers who receive visas under the program also face strict limits, including single-entry visas, a maximum 30-day stay, and use of nine designated airports for entry and exit.

The Trump administration launched the pilot on August 20, 2025 under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) Section 221(g)(3). A Temporary Final Rule, published August 5, 2025, runs until August 5, 2026.

Washington first applied the program to Malawi and Zambia. It then added The Gambia on October 11, 2025, followed by Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Tanzania on October 23, 2025.

Another expansion took effect on January 1, 2026, when Bhutan, Botswana, Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, and Turkmenistan joined the list, bringing the total to 13.

A broader January wave then pushed the total to 38 countries. That group included Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cote D’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

The latest State Department move does not change the list immediately. It gives notice that 12 new countries will join on April 2, 2026, following the standard 15-day notice period.

Officials have not applied the bond requirement to every applicant from a covered country. Consular officers decide during visa interviews whether an individual applicant must post a bond.

The pilot covers B-1/B-2 visitor visas for business or tourism. It targets countries flagged through DHS FY 2023 and FY 2024 overstay reports, weak passport screening, or citizenship-by-investment programs.

For travelers selected for the requirement, the bond does not guarantee a visa. A denial triggers a full refund.

Payment rules are also tight. Applicants must submit DHS Form I-352 through Pay.gov only after consular instruction and within 30 days, and third-party or agent payments are invalid, non-refundable, and may void applications.

After entry, the compliance conditions continue. Visa holders under the program receive single-entry visas valid for 3 months and may stay for no more than 30 days.

The program also bars overstays, asylum filings, and status changes for those travelers. A bond can be forfeited if a traveler breaks the terms, and the penalties can include future visa bans and entry denials.

Refunds come only after the government verifies compliance. Travelers must depart on time, use the designated ports, and avoid other violations.

Applicants are told to keep Pay.gov receipts, Form I-352, itineraries, boarding passes, and passport stamps for Department of Homeland Security verification. That process may take weeks.

The airport restrictions have become one of the program’s most practical hurdles. As of the January 1, 2026 expansions, travelers covered by the pilot must use BOS (Boston Logan), JFK (New York), IAD (Dulles), EWR (Newark), ATL (Atlanta), ORD (Chicago O’Hare), LAX (Los Angeles), YYZ (Toronto Pearson), or YUL (Montréal-Trudeau).

Those limits can affect route planning as much as the bond itself. A traveler who books through a different airport risks breaching the terms even if every other visa condition is met.

For many applicants, the financial burden arrives before any trip begins. Family members or friends cannot post the bond on their behalf, and delays in payment can halt visa processing.

That means a traveler could secure an interview, receive instructions, and still lose time if the funds are not available. For business visitors, tourists, and relatives planning family visits, the added hurdle can reshape whether a trip goes ahead.

The State Department designed the pilot as an overstay deterrent. The structure uses financial pressure to encourage departure and ties country selection to overstay patterns, screening concerns, and citizenship-by-investment programs.

The country list shows where the administration has focused its attention. African nations make up more than 60% of the current list, alongside countries in South Asia, the Pacific, and parts of Latin America.

Supporters of the approach have argued that it adds another screen for higher-risk cases. Critics have said the policy places a heavy burden on lower-income applicants, especially when bond amounts can reach $15,000.

The practical effect can be stark. A traveler from a covered country may qualify for a visitor visa yet still need to tie up thousands of dollars for a short, single-entry trip capped at 30 days.

That can affect a parent attending a graduation, a businessperson meeting clients, or a tourist planning a family visit. It also narrows flexibility, because travelers must pair their plans with one of the approved airports.

The next expansion now looms over applicants from the 12 countries due to join the list on April 2, 2026. Once that date arrives, the total number of countries covered by the B-1/B-2 visa bond pilot program will rise to 50.

The administration’s notice schedule gives travelers little room to ignore updates. New countries can be added with 15 days’ notice, making last-minute changes a possibility for people who have already started planning trips.

That has turned routine visa planning into a more exact exercise. Applicants need to check whether their country is covered, prepare funds in case a consular officer imposes a bond, and make sure their itinerary fits the airport rules before purchasing non-refundable travel.

The pilot itself is temporary, at least for now. It is scheduled to run until August 5, 2026, though bonds posted during the program remain enforceable until resolved.

For applicants already covered, the immediate rules remain unchanged on March 19. The bond amounts stay at $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, the airport list remains at nine, and the visa stays limited to a single entry and a maximum 30-day stay.

For those in the next group of countries, April 2, 2026 is the date to watch. On that day, the U.S. Department of State will widen a program that has already altered how travelers from 38 countries approach even the shortest trip to the United States.