State Department’s Visa Bond Program: 12 New Countries Added to the List

Quick Hits

• On March 18, 2026, the State Department added twelve countries to the visa bond program: Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia.
• The visa bond program now includes a total of fifty countries.
• The State Department expanded its list of designated ports of entry to include all commercial airports, including CBP preclearance locations.
• This measure is aimed at reducing visa overstays in the United States by requiring certain travelers to post a refundable bond, creating a financial incentive to follow visa rules.

The State Department expanded its visa bond pilot program in March 2026 to include a total of fifty countries. Twelve countries were added: Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia.

This program aims to reduce visa overstays by requiring visitors from subject countries to post a refundable bond, creating a financial incentive to comply with visa rules. Visa bonds for the countries added on March 18 will take effect on April 2, 2026.

Citizens or nationals traveling on a passport from any of the listed countries must post a bond of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 as a condition for issuance of a B-1/B-2 visitor visa, if approved. As an additional condition of the bond, travelers must enter and exit the United States through a commercial airport, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance locations. Travelers subject to the bond program may not use charter air, general aviation, land, or seaports for entry to the United States.

The table below provides the fifty countries currently included in the pilot program.

Effective Date	Country Included in Visa Bond Pilot Program
April 2, 2026	Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Tunisia
January 21, 2026	Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe
January 1, 2026	Bhutan, Botswana, Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Namibia, Turkmenistan
October 23, 2025	Mauritania, São Tomé and Principe, Tanzania
October 11, 2025	The Gambia
August 20, 2025	Malawi, Zambia

See Ogletree’s detailed article for additional information on the visa bond pilot program.

Next Steps

Visitors to the United States applying for a B-1/B-2 visa should note the newly added countries to the State Department’s visa bond pilot program and ensure compliance with visa status, bond terms, and consular instructions. Noncompliance—such as incorrect entry points, overstays, or status changes—may trigger review by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the Immigration blog as additional information becomes available.

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