Citizens of Mozambique and 11 other countries will be required to pay a bond of up to $15,000 to obtain a US entry visa from April 2, the State Department announced today.
The measure applies to passport holders from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles and Tunisia. The bond is refunded if the visa application is refused or, if granted, if the person complies with the terms of the visa.
According to a State Department notice, from April 2 these countries are added to a list — which already covers 50 countries — whose citizens are subject to this requirement. The programme was introduced by the Trump administration last year as part of a crackdown on overstaying visas and broader measures to reduce illegal immigration.
Under the programme, visa applicants from designated countries — many in Africa — that present high overstay rates must post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 (€4,300 to €13,000), depending on their circumstances and the discretion of the consular officer processing the application.
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“The visa bond programme has already proven effective in dramatically reducing the number of visa holders who overstay and remain illegally in the United States,” the US government states, adding that nearly 97% of the roughly 1,000 people who paid the bond did not overstay their visa.
The State Department estimates that deporting a migrant costs on average more than $18,000 (€15,600), and argues the system will save American taxpayers up to $800 million (nearly €700 million) per year.
With the addition of these 12 countries, 50 are now subject to the requirement, including African nations Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
