State Dept. Makes Visa Bond Program Permanent for B-1/B-2 Applicants from High-Risk Countries

What the rule does

The State Department has finalized a permanent Visa Bond Program applicable to aliens applying for B-1 (business visitor), B-2 (tourist), or combined B-1/B-2 nonimmigrant visas. Under the program, consular officers may require covered applicants to post a bond of up to $20,000 as a condition of visa issuance. The bond is designed to ensure that the alien maintains nonimmigrant status and departs the United States as required at the expiration of the authorized period of admission. The rule amends 22 CFR part 41 and is effective August 3, 2026.

Background and legal authority

The rule is grounded in section 221(g)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorizes consular officers to require an alien who is otherwise eligible for a visa to post a bond ensuring timely departure or compliance with status conditions. The document also cites Executive Order 14159, "Protecting the American People Against Invasion," which directed the Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, to establish a system to facilitate the administration of all bonds under the INA.

The rule further references a longstanding congressional mandate: the Immigration and Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement Act of 2000 required implementation of an integrated entry and exit data system with annual reports to Congress tracking nonimmigrant visitors for whom no departure data had been obtained by the end of their authorized stay. The document states that a review of those reports going back over a decade demonstrates that hundreds of thousands of nonimmigrant visitors fail to timely depart in accordance with the terms of their visitor visas.

From pilot to permanent program

The permanent program follows the Visa Bond Pilot Program, a temporary final rule published at 90 FR 37378 on August 5, 2025, which went into effect on August 20, 2025, and ran for 12 months. The document states that the pilot provided a framework for the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of the Treasury to assess the feasibility of administering a visa bond program, and that it "has provided sufficient data to suggest that a visa bond program is an effective tool for enforcing compliance among bonded visa holders." Nationals of countries already subject to a visa bond requirement under the pilot program will continue to be subject to that requirement under the permanent rule on its effective date.

Covered countries and rolling modifications

The program targets nationals of countries with high overstay rates, deficient information sharing, insufficient identity verification and criminal records, and that need improvement in screening, vetting, and the security of travel and civil documents, including in the granting of citizenship. The Department will announce covered countries via travel.state.gov no fewer than 15 days before the program takes effect for those countries. The country list may be amended on a rolling basis: countries added to the list require 15 days from announcement to enactment, while countries removed from the list are removed with immediate effect upon the removal date.

What to watch

The rule takes effect August 3, 2026. Observers should monitor travel.state.gov for the initial and updated lists of covered countries, which the Department may amend on a rolling basis with as little as 15 days' notice for additions.

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