US adds Venezuela and 24 other nations to $15,000 visa bond programme: Check full list

Defending the move, the US government said the bonds seek to prevent visitors from overstaying their visas intended for tourism or business purposes. (AP)

In its latest move to tighten requirements for entry into the US, President Donald Trump’s administration has added 25 more countries to a list of nations whose citizens may be required to post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply for entry.

In the second list of countries, the Trump administration has nearly tripled the number of nations, most of them in Africa, while some are in Latin America and Asia. Notably, Venezuela, whose toppled leader, Nicolas Maduro, was seized by US forces over the weekend and was brought to New York, was among the list.

The move may make the process of immigration to the US unaffordable for many in the countries. The policy for the newly added nations will come into effect on January 21, the State Department website said.

However, payment of the bond does not guarantee a visa will be granted. The amount will be refunded if the visa is denied or when a visa holder demonstrates they have complied with the terms of the visa.

“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 for $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000,” the State Department website said, adding the amount was determined at the time of the visa interview.

The new countries included in the latest list include Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Turkmenistan and Zambia were among the countries in the previous list.

As part of its hard-line immigration policy, the Trump administration had earlier introduced procedures such as in-person interviews and disclosure of social media history for years and provision of detailed accounts of their and their families’ previous travel and living arrangements to obtain a visa for entry to the country.

While the Republican Trump and his allies say the policies seek to improve domestic security, human rights groups have widely condemned the immigration and travel-related policies, saying they curb due process guarantees and free speech.