They could require up to $ 15,000 for some tourist and professional visas in a pilot program starting in two weeks, a statement from the government released today, an effort aimed at combating the phenomenon of visitors.
The program gives US consular employees the discretion to impose guarantee on visitors from countries with high rates of overcoming a permissible period of residence, according to a statement from the US newspaper.
Guarantees could also be applied to people coming from countries where control information is deemed inadequate, the statement said.
President Donald Trump has put the fight against irregular migration as the focus of his presidency, giving more resources to border security and arresting people illegally in the US.
It also issued a travel ban in June that completely or partially prevents the entry of 19 countries into the US for national security reasons. Trump’s immigration policies have led some visitors to cancel their trip to the US.
Overland air travel decreased to levels last observed before the Covid-19 pandemic in May and Travels from Canada and Mexico to the US decreased by 20% annually.
What do the numbers show
Since August 20, the new visa program will take about a year, the government announcement said. Consular employees will have three options for visa applicants subject to guarantees: $ 5,000, $ 10,000 or $ 15,000, but at least $ 10,000 is expected to be required, the announcement continues.
A similar pilot program began in November 2020 during the last months of Trump’s first term, but was not fully implemented due to the reduction of global travelers associated with the pandemic.
The Foreign Ministry was unable to assess the number of visa applicants who could be affected by change. Many of the countries targeted by Trump’s travel ban also have high rates of visa, including Chad, Eritrea, Haiti, Myanmar and Yemen. Many countries in Africa, including Burundi, Djibouti and Togo, also had high rates of exceeding the permitted residence duration, according to US Customs and Border Protection Data from the financial year 2023.
