The Trump administration has sharply expanded a controversial US visa bond programme, adding Nigeria, Senegal and 23 other countries, most of them in Africa, to a list that now totals 38 nations.
Under the policy, passport holders from the affected countries may be required to post bonds ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 before being allowed to apply for certain US visas, a cost critics say will place legal travel out of reach for many applicants.
According to a notice published by US authorities, the new bond requirements for the latest group of countries will take effect on 21 January. The move comes less than a week after seven countries were added, almost tripling the size of the list in a short period.
The newly included countries are Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
They join a group that already included Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Turkmenistan and Zambia.
US officials have defended the policy as a tool to reduce visa overstays, arguing that financial guarantees encourage compliance with immigration rules. They stress that paying a bond does not guarantee a visa will be granted, and that the money is refunded if an application is rejected or once a traveller proves they complied with the terms of their visa.
The expansion is part of a broader tightening of US entry requirements, which has also included mandatory in person visa interviews, extended disclosure of social media activity, and more detailed scrutiny of applicants’ travel and residence histories.
However, critics warn that the growing list, dominated by African states, risks deepening perceptions of unequal treatment and effectively shutting out many legitimate travellers, students and business visitors due to cost alone.