The Trump administration will require some foreign travelers to post a $15,000 bond before they can come to the United States – charging roughly what it costs to deport them if they don’t go home.
Fewer than 1.5% of foreign travelers who arrived by air or sea overstayed their visa in fiscal 2023, according to the Department of Homeland Security. That’s about 565,000 people who overstayed versus the more than 38 million foreign travelers who departed on time.
But some countries have higher rates of overstay than others.
As part of the 12-month pilot program, the Trump administration plans to apply the bond rule to countries whose travelers more often ignore the conditions of their visa and stay beyond its expiration, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on Aug. 4.
The notice didn’t specify which countries will be targeted but said the list will be posted on the State Department website later this month.
Travelers from countries including the United Kingdom, Spain and France have some of the highest total number of annual overstays – more than 40,000, 15,000 and 9,000 travelers respectively. But they are among countries that belong to the Visa Waiver Program and won’t be included in the bond pilot program.
The visa waiver allows tourists from these countries to travel here without pre-applying for a visa.
Many of the countries with the highest rates of overstay have the fewest number of visitors to the United States, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Those include places like Burma with a 27% rate of overstay, or 543 individuals; or Liberia with a 19% rate of overstay, or 214 individuals.
Others, like Colombia, have higher numbers of total overstays and a rate that outpaces the average: 40,884 travelers from Colombia, or 4%, overstayed their visa in fiscal 2023, according to DHS.
The pilot program only applies to visas issued for travel by air and sea and doesn’t include travel from Canada or Mexico by land. The U.S. government currently has few ways to track departures through land ports of entry.
The visa bond will range from $5,000 to $15,000 per traveler and will have to be paid to the U.S. Treasury before the visa can be issued. The money will be refunded to travelers who depart on time.
DHS estimates it costs more than $17,000 to arrest, detain and deport a foreign visitor who remains in the country beyond their required departure date.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DHS to require some foreign travelers to pay cash bond for US visa
