This article was prepared with the assistance of ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers, of which Loan Huynh is an active member.
The Department of State (DOS) published a temporary final rule on August 5, 2025, announcing the start of a 12-month visa bond pilot program. Individuals applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure (B-1/B-2) who are nationals of countries identified by DOS as having “high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering Citizenship by Investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement,” may be subject to the pilot program. Consular officers may require covered nonimmigrant visa applicants to post a bond of up to $15,000 as a condition of visa issuance, as determined by the consular officers.
Based on their B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate, DOS announced visa bonds on nationals of Malawi and Zambia coming to the United States on B-1/B-2 visas. Starting August 20, 2025, any citizen or national traveling on a passport issued by one of these countries who is found otherwise eligible for a B-1/B-2 visa must post a bond in amounts of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000, determined at the time of the visa interview. The applicant must also submit a Department of Homeland Security Form I-352 agreeing to the terms of the bond, through the Department of the Treasury’s online payment platform Pay.gov. This requirement applies regardless of place of application.
DOS said that applicants should only submit a Form I-352 to post a bond after being directed to do so by a consular officer. Applicants will be provided a direct link and must pay via Pay.gov. “A bond does not guarantee visa issuance, and if any individual pays fees without being directed to do so by a consular officer, that money will not be returned,” DOS said.
All visa holders who have posted a visa bond must arrive to and depart from the United States via one of the ports of entry listed below, DOS said:
- Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
