United States of America’s State Department is expanding its visa bond program to apply to a total of 50 countries–Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Georgia, Grenada, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Tajikistan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe– on April 2 and will require foreign nationals from these countries to post a bond of US $15,000 before receiving B1 or B2 visas for business and tourism in the United States.
Among those 38 countries that have been already affected and from April 2 action will apply the visa bond policy to 12 additional nations.
Now, any Nepalese applying for the US B1 or B2 visas, the applicants should have to deposit US $15,000 which is equivalent to Nepalese Rupees 2,227,800 @ 148.52.
The bond will be returned to visa recipients who return home in compliance with the terms of the visa and the bond or does not travel, said in a State department press release.
The visa bond program has already proven effective at drastically reducing the number of visa recipients who overstay their visas and illegally remain in the United States. Nearly 1,000 foreigners have been issued visas under the program, and 97% of bonded travelers have returned home from the United States on time, it reads.
By contrast, in President Joe Biden’s last year in office, more than 44,000 visitors from the 50 current Visa Bonds countries overstayed.
The Department may continue to place Visa Bonds on countries based on a range of immigration risk factors.
The expanded visa bond program saves the American taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars every year. It costs the U.S. taxpayer over US $18,000 on average to remove an alien illegally present in the United States. The Department of State is saving U.S. taxpayers up to US $800 million per year that would otherwise be required to remove these aliens who overstay, the release added.
