- Papua New Guinea launched official talks with Washington to address the permanent U.S. Visa Bond Program.
- Travelers face mandatory bonds of up to twenty thousand dollars for business and tourism visa categories.
- Prime Minister Marape emphasized compliance with U.S. laws while seeking a formal review of the policy.
The PNG Government opened talks with Washington on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, over the U.S. Visa Bond Program, and Prime Minister James Marape urged travelers to follow the rules. The message was blunt.
Marape said the government respects U.S. sovereignty, but wants to understand why the policy landed on Papua New Guinea. He kept the tone measured.
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“Our response should not be anger. Our response must be to understand why this policy has been applied to us, correct whatever issues are within our responsibility, and make a strong case for Papua New Guinea to be reconsidered.”
The U.S. locked the policy in place on August 3, 2026, when a Federal Register notice, Vol. 91, No. 148, turned the 2025 visa bond pilot into a permanent rule. It said the pilot had given officials enough data to support a lasting program. It is now permanent.
A State Department spokesperson said on August 10, 2026, that the measure is not a travel ban. The point was explicit.
“This is not a travel ban. Nationals of visa-bond countries may still be issued visas, as long as they meet the qualifications of the visa and pay the bond. All of the countries that were included in the pilot programme, including PNG, remain part of the visa bond programme under the new rule.”
The price is steep. The bond can reach $20,000 USD, about K88,200. Consular officers can set it at $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000. It applies to B-1 business visas and B-2 tourism or medical visas. PNG was added on April 2, 2026. Student visas, or F-1, are exempt for now. They may be added by September 2026.
Leaving late can cost the full bond
The rules are unforgiving. DHS says applicants post the bond on DHS Form I-352, and a consular officer must direct them to pay through Pay.gov in U.S. dollars. The agency says it makes all bond breach determinations. Violations include breaking any condition of status, remaining in the U.S. after expiration, or attempting to adjust status. USCIS tracks compliance data, while DHS handles enforcement. A one-day overstay can wipe out the bond.
The government cites numbers from the 12-month pilot, Aug 2025 – Aug 2026. The data looked good. It said 98% of bonded travelers complied with visa terms, while more than 45,000 overstays came from those same 50 countries in the 2024 fiscal year. Those figures helped carry the program into permanent form.
Five Pacific nations remain inside the net
PNG is one of five Pacific Islands Forum nations covered by the bonds, alongside Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The U.S. links the measure to high overstay rates and concerns about deficient information sharing or identity verification. Marape said on August 11, 2026, that the response should not be anger, and that the government wants to correct whatever is within its own responsibility before pressing for reconsideration. Talks with Washington are now under way.
