By Opeyemi Adelakun
The United States has introduced a mandatory visa bond of up to $20,000 for eligible applicants from Nigeria and several other African countries seeking business and tourist visas, as Washington tightens measures against visa overstays.
The policy, which will come into effect on Monday, August 3, 2026, expands the Visa Bond Programme first introduced on a pilot basis in August 2025 after US authorities reported improvements in compliance with immigration rules.
Under the new arrangement, consular officers will determine whether an applicant is required to pay a refundable bond of $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000, based on factors including the purpose of travel, financial capacity, employment status and the applicant’s ties to their home country.
The bond will be refunded, without interest, once the visitor leaves the United States within the approved period and complies with all visa conditions. However, anyone who violates the terms of the visa risks forfeiting the entire amount.
Explaining the policy, the US Department of State said the programme is backed by Executive Order 14159, titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” which directs federal agencies to strengthen immigration compliance and improve the administration of visa bonds.
According to the department, the policy targets countries with relatively high overstay rates as well as concerns relating to identity verification, document security and information sharing.
The State Department said the pilot programme produced encouraging results, recording fewer than 50 overstay cases within its first 10 months compared with 45,488 recorded from the same group of countries in 2024.
“The 2025 visa bond pilot… has provided sufficient data to suggest that a visa bond program is an effective tool for enforcing compliance among bonded visa holders,” the department said.
Despite the improvement in compliance, the pilot also led to a sharp decline in visa demand, with visa issuance to affected countries dropping by 83 per cent after many applicants declined to pay the required bond.
US officials maintained that the initiative is intended to encourage foreign governments to reduce overstay rates by ensuring their citizens comply with American immigration laws.
“This Programme responds to… and is intended to encourage foreign governments to take immediate action to reduce the overstay rates by encouraging their nationals to comply with US immigration laws,” the department stated.
The US Mission in Nigeria also reminded visa applicants to submit genuine passport photographs, warning that altered or AI-generated images would not be accepted during the application process.
Nigeria is among the African countries affected by the policy, alongside Algeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and several others. The maximum bond amount will be reviewed every seven years, beginning October 1, 2027.
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