The Trump administration has expanded its visa bond requirement to seven additional countries, bringing to 13 the number of nations whose passport holders must post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply for U.S. visas, the Associated Press reported Monday. The State Department quietly added Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan to the list; the designations took effect Jan. 1, according to a notice on the travel.state.gov website. Five of the seven newly added countries are in Africa — 11 of the 13 countries now on the list are African nations.
The Trump administration has expanded its visa bond requirement to seven more countries, effective Jan. 1, the State Department confirmed, bringing to 13 the total number of nations whose passport holders must post up to $15,000 to apply for a U.S. visa — a requirement that makes the process financially out of reach for many applicants.
The State Department quietly added Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan to the list. A notice on the travel.state.gov website recorded the designations as taking effect at the start of the new year. Five of the seven newly designated countries are in Africa; 11 of the 13 countries now on the list are African nations.
The bond requirement makes U.S. visas financially inaccessible for many eligible applicants and is part of a broader tightening of entry rules under the Trump administration, which has also mandated in-person interviews and extensive social media and travel disclosures for visa seekers worldwide.
How the bond requirement works
Bonds required under the program can range from $5,000 to $15,000. Payment of the bond does not guarantee that a visa will be issued. Applicants receive a refund if their application is denied; those whose visas are granted receive a refund when they demonstrate, after the visa’s terms expire, that they complied with those terms.
U.S. officials have defended the requirement, maintaining that it is effective in ensuring that citizens of targeted countries do not overstay their visas, according to the AP.
Background
The six countries added to the bond list in August and October 2025 — Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Gambia, Malawi and Zambia — remain subject to the requirement alongside the seven newly designated nations.
The bond expansion is one component of a broader package of entry restrictions the Trump administration has imposed. Citizens of all countries requiring a visa to enter the United States must now sit for in-person interviews and disclose years of social media histories, as well as detailed records of their own and their families’ prior travel and living arrangements.