The United States on Tuesday announced new visa bond requirements for travellers from Malawi and Zambia, citing high overstay rates by nationals of the two southern African countries.
The 2023 Overstay Report published by the US Department of Homeland Security identified over 565,000 total overstays, with Malawi and Zambia flagged for high rates among non-Visa Waiver Programme countries.
In a statement on Tuesday, the US State Department said eligible applicants for business and tourist visas from the two countries must post a refundable bond of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 starting from 20 August as part of a 12-month pilot programme.
“The applicant must also submit a Department of Homeland Security Form I-352 agreeing to the terms of the bond, through the Department of the Treasury’s online payment platform,” the statement said.
The move applies regardless of where the visa application is made and mandates that visa holders enter and exit the US through designated ports: Boston Logan International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York) or Dulles International Airport (Washington DC).
The bond will be refunded if the visa holder departs the US within the authorised period, does not travel before visa expiry, or is denied entry.
Breaches – such as overstaying or applying for asylum – will trigger forfeiture, with enforcement handled by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Other African nations cited in the 2023 report as having high overstay rates included Angola, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. However, the pilot visa bond programme will only apply to nationals of Malawi and Zambia for now.
The visa bond programme, first proposed under President Donald Trump’s first term that ended in 2020, is part of broader efforts to tighten immigration enforcement and reduce costs associated with visa violations.
JN/APA