PH travelers not affected by new US visa bond program

LOS ANGELES – Travelers from the Philippines will not be required to post a bond of up to $15,000 to apply to enter the United States under the US State Department’s new pilot program.

Effective Aug. 20, the State Department will require business and tourist visa applicants from Zambia and Malawi to pay bonds under a new 12-month pilot program, according to a notice posted on its website.

“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 B1/B2 visa must post a bond in amounts of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, determined at time of visa interview,” the State Department said.

If visitors comply with the terms of the bond, the amount will be refunded.

The new rule targets travelers from countries with higher rates of visa overstays, according to the department’s temporary final rule published Aug. 5 in the Federal Register.

It excludes visitors from Mexico, Canada and the more than 40 countries enrolled in the US Visa Waiver Program, which allows travel to the US for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa.

A preview of the notice posted on the Federal Register website on Monday said the pilot program would take effect within 15 days of its formal publication, adding it is necessary to ensure the US government is not financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the terms of his or her visa.

“Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department 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,” the notice said.

Visa bonds have been proposed in the past but have not been implemented. Traditionally, the state department has discouraged the requirement because of the cumbersome process of posting and discharging a bond and because of possible misperceptions by the public.

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