US introduces $20,000 visa bond for Nigerian and other African applicants
The United States has announced that from Monday, 3 August 2026, applicants from Nigeria and several other African countries seeking business and tourist visas will be required to deposit up to $20,000 as a condition for entry. The measure, which formalises a Visa Bond Programme that began on a pilot basis in August 2025, is aimed at curbing the growing number of visitors who overstay their authorised period in the country.
The US Department of State said the decision followed concerns over increasing cases of visitors remaining in the country beyond their authorised stay, as well as gaps in data sharing and identity verification by some countries. Consular officers will assess each applicant and determine the bond amount – set at $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000 – based on factors such as travel purpose, financial status, employment and ties to the applicant’s home country.
How the bond works
The bond will be refunded without interest after the visitor leaves the United States within the approved period and complies with all visa conditions. It will be forfeited in cases of violation. The policy is backed by Executive Order 14159, titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” which directs federal agencies to strengthen immigration compliance mechanisms, including bond administration.
According to the State Department, the programme targets countries with high overstay rates and weaknesses in information exchange, identity management and document security. During the pilot phase, 50 countries were included, with qualified B-1/B-2 visa applicants required to pay up to $15,000, depending on consular evaluation.
Pilot results and impact
The State Department said the pilot recorded a sharp decline in overstays, with fewer than 50 cases reported in the first 10 months, compared to 45,488 overstays from the same group of countries in 2024. However, the programme also significantly reduced visa demand. Visa issuance for the affected countries dropped by 83 per cent between August 2025 and July 2026, as nearly half of about 20,000 applicants declined to pay the bond. Total deposits during the pilot were estimated at $115 million.
Data from the US Department of Homeland Security show that countries outside the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) account for a higher proportion of overstays. In 2024, there were 269,382 B-1/B-2 overstays among non-VWP countries, excluding Mexico and Canada. The overstay rate stood at 2.06 per cent for non-VWP countries, compared to 0.44 per cent for VWP participants.
Official response
“The 2025 visa bond pilot, which provided a framework for the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of the Treasury to assess the feasibility of administering a visa bond programme, has provided sufficient data to suggest that a visa bond program is an effective tool for enforcing compliance among bonded visa holders,” the department said.
Officials said the policy is intended to encourage cooperation from foreign governments rather than punish applicants. “This Programme responds to… and is intended to encourage foreign governments to take immediate action to reduce the overstay rates by encouraging their nationals to comply with US immigration laws,” the notice stated.
The maximum bond threshold will be reviewed every seven years to reflect inflation, beginning on 1 October 2027.
Separate photo warning
Separately, the US Mission in Nigeria cautioned visa applicants against submitting altered or AI-generated passport photographs, warning that such images would be rejected. “Your photo should be recent (taken within the past six months) and look like you. The TSA or CBP agent must be able to tell it’s you,” the mission said.
Countries listed under the policy include Algeria, Tunisia, Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal, Togo and São Tomé and Príncipe. Others are Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Djibouti, Gabon, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
