The United States will impose bonds of 5,000, 10,000 or $ 15,000 (12,992 euros) for tourism and business visas issued to visitors from certain countries, even without announcing, with significant rates of illegal stays.
Thus, these deposits will be launched through a 12 -month pilot program established in a temporary final standard published on Monday, according to Bloomberg.
Specifically, the program will also include countries in which the agency has detected inappropriate control of applicants and those who offer citizenship for investment without residence requirements. There will be no possibility of requesting exemptions, but officials may exempt the payment of bonds for urgent humanitarian needs or other limited circumstances.
In addition, travelers must also enter and leave the North American country through designated airports that will be announced later by the State Department. After leaving the United States on time, they will be entitled to a complete refund of the bond.
A program described as “a fundamental pillar”
The State Department has described the pilot program as “a fundamental pillar of the foreign policy of the Trump administration to protect the United States from the clear threat to national security that the prolonged rooms without visa and the deficient selection and verification suppose.”
The scope of the pilot program seems to be “limited” and it is very likely that it affects countries with a “relatively low” travel volume, as stated by the senior vice president of government relations of the United States Travel Association, Erik Hansen.
“If we want to maintain a competitive position in the world travel market, it is essential that the United States visa policy reflects both national security priorities and the important economic value of international visits,” he said.
A similar Trump initiative could never be implemented by pandemic
This program renews an initiative of the last months of President Donald Trump’s first mandate, which was never applied due to the interruption of trips caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thus, this 2020 version included 23 countries, including: Afghanistan, Angola, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Liberia, Libya, Mauritania, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. A report by the National Security Department of 2023 revealed more than 314,000 cases of travelers who stayed longer than allowed with ‘B-1’ or tourist business visas ‘B-2’.
