US visa bond: who has to pay it and how much?

What the Aug 3, 2026 rule set up

The State Department finalized the temporary rule under which a 12-month pilot had run since Aug 20, 2025, and made the program permanent. The basis is INA 221(g)(3): the law allows bonds for B and F applicants, but the program is limited to B-1/B-2.

Countries are announced on travel.state.gov at least 15 days before the requirement starts for newly added countries; removal takes effect immediately. According to the rule itself, 50 countries were added in the first 10 months of the pilot. From Oct 1, 2027, and every seven years after, the $20,000 maximum is adjusted for inflation.

There is no waiver application process. The head of the Bureau of Consular Affairs may waive the bond for a person, country or category; on Sep 16, 2026 that authority was delegated to two deputies (91 FR 58739).

How it is paid and when it comes back

The bond is paid electronically, in US dollars only and in full, through the Treasury payment platform; the funds are held by a bank acting as the government's financial agent. Fees and exchange costs are the applicant's, and some payment methods may be unavailable because of cross-border payment limits.

A condition of the bond is arrival and departure by commercial air through a US port of entry or a CBP Preclearance location. If the terms of status are kept and the departure is on time, the bond is cancelled and the money returned.

A timely extension or change-of-status filing is not itself a violation, but USCIS may treat the bond as a negative factor when deciding it. Filing for asylum on Form I-589 breaches the bond, and it is forfeited in full.

Does it apply to your country

The State Department list (the "Countries Subject to Visa Bonds" page on travel.state.gov, updated May 13, 2026, checked Oct 2, 2026) has 50 countries. From the former USSR and nearby it includes Georgia (from Apr 2, 2026), Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (both from Jan 21, 2026), Turkmenistan (from Jan 1, 2026) and Mongolia (from Apr 2, 2026). Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Moldova are not on it. Check the list before booking an interview: countries are added and removed.

The same State Department page still gives the pilot amounts - $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000: it was updated before the Aug 3, 2026 rule. The amounts in force come from the rule: $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000.

For a national of a country not on the list the program changes nothing. For a national of a listed country the bond comes on top of the usual visa fee, and the officer sets the amount based on the applicant's circumstances.

What the chats ask

From July to September 2026 there were 11 questions about the bond: whether the State Department will impose a $100,000 bond on immigrant visas (Jul 16, Jul 17, Jul 19), whether the bond applies to immigrant visas at all (Aug 22), whether and when it is returned (Aug 1), what the news about bonds of up to $20,000 for 50 countries means (Aug 2), whether a child is bonded when a mother and son travel together (Aug 4, twice), and whether people who already had an immigrant visa interview will be asked for a bond (Aug 29, Sep 11, twice).

Most of the worry came from press reports of a bond for immigrants. The published rule covers only B-1/B-2; if a rule for immigrant visas appears, it will be published in the Federal Register.