U.S. Embassy in Uganda Warns Visa Applicants About New Visa Bond Payment Rules

The U.S. Embassy in Uganda issued an advisory on February 8, 2026, warning visa applicants not to make any visa bond payment before their interviews as new bond rules near.

“Do not pay your bond in advance. A consular officer will provide instructions on how to pay your bond after your interview, if you are eligible,” the embassy said. “Paying a bond before your interview does not guarantee a visa. If someone pays fees without a consular officer’s direction, the fees will not be returned.”

The alert ties to Uganda’s inclusion in the expanded U.S. Visa Bond Pilot Program, which adds a refundable bond requirement for some Ugandan nationals applying for B1/B2 business and tourist visas.

A visa bond, as described in the embassy guidance, differs from standard visa fees because it functions as a refundable “maintenance of status and departure bond” tied to whether a traveler follows U.S. immigration rules and leaves on time. The consular process still begins with the interview, and applicants pay a bond only if the consular officer instructs them after that interview.

Uganda’s participation in the pilot program signals tighter screening and enforcement steps for some B1/B2 applicants, with a focus on post-entry compliance. The embassy’s message also emphasizes sequencing: interview first, payment instruction second, then travel and entry inspection, and finally documented departure that supports any refund.

The new visa bond payment rules take effect January 21, 2026, the embassy said, and the effective date matters for how applicants should interpret online claims and third-party messages about paying early. Applicants with upcoming appointments still attend the interview, and only after the decision process may a consular officer require a bond and provide payment instructions.

U.S. Ambassador William W. Popp addressed the broader approach during a February 5, 2026, press briefing at the Embassy House in Kampala. “The Trump administration is fully enforcing U.S. immigration laws to protect national interests and ensure lawful travel. Our goal is to ensure that travel is lawful, secure, and mutually beneficial,” Popp said.

The embassy did not present the bond as automatic for every applicant. Instead, Ugandan nationals applying for B1/B2 visas “may be required” to post the bond, and a consular officer makes that determination “on a case-by-case basis” during the interview.

Bond amounts come in set tiers of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, with the consular officer determining which amount applies in an individual case. That structure means applicants can receive the bond requirement only after they appear for the interview and a consular officer assesses eligibility and perceived risk.

Refundability sits at the center of the policy’s practical effect. The embassy guidance says the bond “is automatically refunded if the traveler departs the U.S. on time, does not travel, or is denied entry at the border.” It also draws a hard line around payment compliance, warning that any payment made “outside the official system or before the interview is non-refundable.”

The embassy’s February 8 advisory framed that risk in simple terms, telling applicants that paying before the interview does not affect the visa decision and can lead to permanent loss of funds. The warning also aimed to deter fraud, with the embassy telling applicants to avoid any payment request that does not come from a consular officer after the interview.

For applicants who are instructed to pay, the U.S. Embassy guidance points them to an official channel. Payments must be made exclusively through the U.S. Treasury’s Pay.gov portal, and applicants must use a direct link provided by the consular officer.

That link requirement matters because the embassy’s advisory explicitly rejects advance payments and any payment outside the authorized flow. The embassy said a consular officer will provide instructions after the interview if the applicant is eligible, and it warned that fees paid without that direction “will not be returned.”

Applicants also face paperwork tied to the bond itself. The embassy guidance says applicants must complete Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-352 as part of the immigration bond process.

The form requirement adds a documentation layer that applicants must manage alongside the interview outcome and any payment instruction. In practical terms, applicants who are told to post a bond need to keep records that connect the interview decision, the bond amount, and the official Pay.gov payment pathway.

Careful recordkeeping also relates to refunds. The embassy guidance describes automatic refunds in several circumstances, including timely departure, and travelers who expect a refund have a clear incentive to retain proof of travel and compliance.

The pilot program also comes with travel routing limits for those subject to a bond. The embassy guidance says visa holders required to post a bond must enter and exit through specific airports to ensure their departure is recorded.

Those designated ports of entry include John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). For travelers, that requirement can shape flight planning because a bond-linked arrival or departure that falls outside the specified airports could complicate how departure gets recorded.

The designated-airport rule also ties back to the refund concept the embassy described. If a bond refund depends on documented compliance and timely departure, travelers have an added reason to align itineraries with the specified entry and exit points and retain travel records.

In Uganda, the bond amounts raise obvious budgeting questions for travelers who might otherwise qualify for a B1/B2 visa and plan short trips for business or tourism. The bond “can reach Shs 55 million,” presenting a financial hurdle that applicants may need to plan for if a consular officer imposes a bond.

A separate policy with the same effective date, January 21, 2026, “has paused immigrant visa issuances” to nationals of 75 countries, including Uganda. It says the pause is intended to prevent “public charge” reliance on U.S. government assistance.

That immigrant-visa pause operates separately from the nonimmigrant B1/B2 bond pilot mechanics described in the embassy advisory, and the steps differ by visa category. The bond process described by the embassy centers on B1/B2 interviews, post-interview payment instructions, and travel-and-departure compliance, while the pause concerns immigrant visa issuances.

For immigrant visa seekers, current applications are paused, though interviews “may still be scheduled to maintain the queue for future processing.” That can leave applicants monitoring case communications closely while trying to understand which procedures apply to their category.

Current visa holders also face a different planning problem, separate from the bond decision made during a new interview. Most new non-immigrant visas for Ugandans are now single-entry and valid for only three months, which can compress travel schedules and reduce flexibility once a traveler enters the United States.

Shorter validity and single-entry conditions can also increase the cost of mistakes. Travelers who misunderstand their permitted stay, or who fail to watch their “admit until” dates, may face serious immigration consequences, and the bond pilot adds a financial stake for those required to post a bond.

For B1/B2 applicants preparing for interviews, the embassy’s guidance points to a narrow, compliance-focused approach. Applicants need to be ready for the interview decision, be ready to follow post-interview instructions, and avoid any third party offering to collect a visa bond payment early.

The embassy advisory also sets expectations about who controls the process. A consular officer decides whether a bond applies and then provides the payment instructions and direct Pay.gov link, which limits the role of agents, unofficial portals, or social media claims about how to pay.

Applicants instructed to post a bond can also reduce risk by organizing documents around three moments: the interview and any written instruction, the payment itself through the authorized platform, and the travel record that supports the bond’s automatic refund conditions.

For current visa holders, the reference to single-entry visas valid for three months underscores the need to confirm the entry validity and conditions before travel. Travelers also need to keep clear records that show timely departure, because compliance sits at the center of the bond pilot’s refund logic for those required to post a bond.

The embassy’s February 8 warning made its core message broad enough to apply across applicant types: do not pay early, do not pay outside the consular officer’s instructions, and do not assume a payment can influence a visa decision. “Paying a bond before your interview does not guarantee a visa,” the embassy said.

Ugandans seeking to verify the program and avoid scams can check primary government sources cited in the guidance, including the U.S. Embassy in Uganda website for local instructions and alerts.

The U.S. Department of State also maintains a visa bond pilot program page at travel.state.gov, where travelers can confirm how the program works and track updates.

For bond-related forms and references, DHS and USCIS guidance at uscis.gov can be used to confirm official information tied to Form I-352 and related bond concepts.

The embassy’s advisory, delivered just days before the rules take effect, aimed to prevent a specific harm: applicants sending money before any consular decision, or to the wrong place, and then losing it. “If someone pays fees without a consular officer’s direction, the fees will not be returned,” the embassy said.