Travelling to the U.S. is becoming not only more cumbersome, but also more costly, under the second Trump Administration.
On top of a slew of charges it already intends to levy on U.S. visitors, the State Department plans to roll out a year-long visa bond pilot program which will require certain business and tourist visa applicants to post bonds of up to $15,000 as a condition of the visa issuance.
The visa bond program is a revival of a program from the first Trump Administration, which required nationalities from 23 different countries—most of which are in Africa—to post similar bonds. That program, announced in late 2020, had a six-month timeline but the department did not fully implement it because the COVID-19 pandemic caused an international travel slowdown, according to a government notice on the Federal Register Tuesday.
The second Trump Administration’s visa bond pilot program is set to take effect on Aug. 20. It’s…
