The $15,000 B-1/B-2 Visa Bond: How the Pilot Program Works

On August 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of State launched the Visa Bond Pilot Program — a twelve-month regulatory experiment that conditions the issuance of B-1/B-2 tourist and business visas on the deposit of a refundable bond of up to $15,000. The program targets nationals of countries classified by the U.S. government as having high rates of unauthorized overstay or screening protocols deemed inadequate, and its stated goal is to test mechanisms that ensure visitors leave the United States within their authorized period.

The program runs through August 5, 2026. If you plan to apply for a B-1/B-2 visa during that window, understanding who is subject to the bond, how the amount is determined, under what conditions a refund is issued, and what additional restrictions apply to visas issued under this program is the essential first step to avoiding surprises and interpreting any consular communication clearly.

Regulatory Background and Program Rationale

The bond pilot was formalized through a rule published in the Federal Register and is jointly operated by the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs and Department of Homeland Security agencies responsible for entry and exit monitoring. The official justification draws on consolidated data from CBP’s annual Entry/Exit Overstay Report, which measures the share of visitors admitted in a given fiscal year who did not record a departure through official channels.

The regulatory logic adapts a longstanding tool in U.S. immigration law — discretionary bonds — to the consular screening stage. Before a visa is issued, the consular officer reviews the case and, when applicable, sets a bond amount at one of three levels: $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000. The deposit is held in a government account until the visitor’s confirmed return to their home country. If the applicant departs on time, the full amount is refunded. If not, it is forfeited.

Who Is Subject to the Bond

The program does not apply to all B-1/B-2 applicants. It applies exclusively to nationals of countries that the Department of State classifies under three risk categories. The first includes countries with high overstay rates according to the most recent CBP fiscal year report. The second covers nations whose biometric identification and document security protocols are considered insufficient by DHS. The third encompasses countries that offer citizenship-by-investment programs with no substantive residency requirement — a practice the U.S. government associates with screening vulnerabilities.

The list of covered countries is published and updated by the Department of State on a dedicated page at Travel.State.Gov, with a minimum of fifteen days’ notice before any change takes effect. As of mid-2026, Brazil, Portugal, and most Portuguese-speaking countries do not appear on the published list — but anyone planning to apply for a B-1/B-2 should check the official page before scheduling an interview, especially if they hold dual nationality or have previously entered the United States on a third-country passport.

Top 25 Overstay Rates for Fiscal Year 2023

The table below, drawn from CBP’s official Entry/Exit report for fiscal year 2023, shows the 25 countries with the highest overstay rates for non-immigrant tourist and business visas outside the Visa Waiver Program. This is the pool from which the Department of State selects countries subject to the bond.

The presence of Portuguese-speaking countries in the upper range — Angola, Cape Verde — is why applicants holding those passports should monitor the program’s official page with extra care. In 2025, the first countries explicitly designated by the Department of State were Malawi and Zambia.

Bond Amounts and Calibration Criteria

The consular officer has three amounts available: $5,000, $10,000, and $15,000. The choice is not discretionary — it responds to criteria that combine the applicant’s individual history, economic and family ties in the home country, purpose of travel, prior international travel patterns, and the aggregate risk profile of the applicant’s passport. Applicants with proven ties — stable employment, property, immediate family, prior trips with recorded departures — tend to receive the lower tier. Applicants with a weaker profile or no established international travel history are assessed at higher tiers.

The deposit is made exclusively online through the official U.S. Treasury portal at Pay.gov, with automatic confirmation to the consular system. No intermediary agency, expediter, attorney, or consultant may receive the payment or forward it to the government — the transaction is direct between the applicant and the U.S. government. Any request for payment through an alternative channel should be treated as a fraud attempt.

Restrictions on Visas Issued Under the Bond

A B-1/B-2 issued under the bond program comes with three significant limitations compared to a standard visa. Entry is single — there are no multiple entries. The visa validity is reduced to three months from the date of issuance. And the authorized period of stay in each admission is limited in practice to thirty days, as determined by the CBP officer at the port of entry.

These combined restrictions make the bond pilot unsuitable for applicants who would typically rely on the flexibility of a standard B-1/B-2 — recurring business travel, extended family visits, tourism lasting more than one month. For those applicants, the relevant analysis is whether their passport appears on the program’s list and, if so, whether their travel plans are compatible with the restricted design imposed by the visa.

Refund, Forfeiture, and Departure Documentation

A full bond refund requires three cumulative conditions: actual departure from the United States before the date indicated on the I-94, no violation of the terms of admission during the stay, and no change of immigration status inside the United States without express authorization.

The refund process is triggered automatically upon departure registration through CBP’s biometric system. Visitors leaving through a port of entry with biometric coverage — international airports and select seaports — receive instant registration. Land border departures through Canada or Mexico may require additional documentary proof, given uneven biometric coverage at those crossings. In the event of a discrepancy, the applicant submits departure evidence — used airline ticket, entry stamp in another country, international hotel invoice, tax return from the home country — directly to the Department of State, which reopens the review.

Forfeiture occurs upon confirmed overstay, unauthorized change to another visa category, unauthorized employment, or any reported violation of admission terms. In those cases, the amount is not only lost — the violation record is attached to the passport history, affecting all future visa applications.

The Visa Integrity Fee: What It Is and How It Differs from the Bond

Separate from the bond, and independent of the pilot program, a new federal fee has been in effect since 2025 and applies to nearly all non-immigrant visa categories: the Visa Integrity Fee. This charge has a minimum of $250, is non-refundable, and is added on top of existing fees — the MRV fee, the reciprocity fee where applicable, and the SEVIS fee for students and exchange visitors. The amount is adjusted annually for inflation under a Department of Homeland Security rule.

Confusing the bond with the Visa Integrity Fee is a common mistake. The bond is limited to the pilot program, applies only to B-1/B-2 applicants from designated countries, is refundable, and has a variable amount. The Visa Integrity Fee is universal, non-refundable, and applies to virtually every non-immigrant visa applicant, whether or not they fall under the bond pilot.

What to Monitor Through August 2026

The pilot program closes on August 5, 2026. Before that date, three scenarios are plausible: an extension by decision of the Department of State, an expansion to additional countries, or discontinuation based on accumulated results. Any of these outcomes produces material changes for applicants in process. The dedicated page at Travel.State.Gov is the primary update source — any change to the country list takes effect with a minimum of fifteen days’ notice.

For those planning to apply for a B-1/B-2 with a passport from a country that may be added to the list, the practical recommendation is to monitor the official page monthly, maintain documented records of international travel history, consolidate evidence of ties to the home country, and consider scheduling the consular interview as soon as possible — while the passport is still not designated. For those already subject to the bond, timely and documented departure is the only viable strategy for recovering the deposited amount.

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

Leading journalism and editorial content at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps make immigration topics clear, trustworthy, and easy to understand. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.