Indians to pay $15k to enter US? Trump's America will force foreigners to post hefty bond for visa

Some visitors to the United States may soon have to cough up a whopping $15,000 in bond money before entering the nation. According to a notice posted to the Federal Register on Monday, the US State Department has announced that it will soon launch a pilot programme for visa bonds. The 12-month trial of the visa bonds, as per reports, is set to start in 15 days' time. This bond could apply to both business and leisure visitors from certain countries. This comes amid heightened US-India tensions over President Donald Trump's tariffs. So, would Indians have to pay $15,000 to enter the US? All you need to know.

Pilot programme

Under the upcoming pilot programme, visa applicants would be required to post a bond of $5,000-$15,000 to obtain a business or tourist visa to the US - a $10,000 bond per adult and $5,000 per child.

"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," reads the notice.

What's more, once the travellers are granted the right to travel to the US, they can only do so by travelling via certain US airports, the names of which are yet to be revealed.

The money posted for the bond would be refunded once the travellers go back to their home country in accordance with the terms of their visa.

Which countries will be targeted with Trump's visa bonds?

As per the notice published on the Federal Register website, the pilot programme is aimed at travellers from certain nations that are deemed to have high overstay rates. It will reportedly apply to both business and leisure visitors from countries that the US identifies as "having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient".

Will Indians be affected?

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Indians travel to the US for business or pleasure. According to US National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO) data, last year, between January and October, nearly 1.9 million Indian visitors travelled to the US, marking a 48 per cent increase compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. The fate of these travellers amid heightened tensions, for now, is uncertain. While reports suggest that citizens of Canada, Mexico, and other countries which are part of the Visa Waiver Program are exempt from the bond requirement, it is not known if Indians would be asked to post bonds or not. The notice states that the countries subject to the Pilot Program will be announced on the travel.state.gov website. This list may also be modified on a rolling basis.

Some visitors to the United States may soon have to cough up a whopping $15,000 in bond money before entering the nation. According to a notice posted to the Federal Register on Monday, the US State Department has announced that it would soon launch a pilot programme for visa bonds. The 12-month-trial of the visa bonds as per reports is set to start in 15 days times. This bond could apply to both business and leisure visitors from certain countries. This comes amid heightened US-India tensions over President Donald Trump's tariffs. Are Indians going to have to pay $15,000 to enter the US? All you need to know.

Pilot programme

Under the upcoming pilot programme visa applicants would be required to post a bond of $5,000-$15,000 to obtain a business or tourist visa to the US - a $10,000 bond per adult and $5,000 per child.

"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," reads the notice.

What's more once the travellers are granted the right to travel to the US they can only do so by travelling via certain US airports, the names of which are yet to be revealed.

The money posted for the bond would be refunded once the travellers go back to their home country in accordance with the term of their visa.

Which countries will be targeted with Trump's visa bonds?

As per the notice published on the Federal Register, the pilot programme is aimed at travellers from certain nations that are deemed to have high overstay rates. It will reportedly apply to both business and leisure visitors from countries that the US identifies as "having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient".

Will Indians be affected?

As per reports, citizens of Canada, Mexico, and other countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program are exempt from the bond requirement. However, it is not known if Indians would be asked to post bonds or not. The notice states that the countries subject to the Pilot Program will be announced on travel.state.gov website. This list may also be modified on a rolling basis.