Nigerian visitors to the United States (US) may have to pay
up to $15,000 in bonds according to a new temporary policy issued to discourage
nationals of some countries with higher visa overstay rate.
The President Donald Trump administration introduced the
visa bond pilot programme on Monday for B-1 visas (for business travellers) and
B-2 visas (for tourists) and it is expected to run for six months — December 24
to June 24, 2021.
The rule will see US consular officials ask travellers from
affected countries to pay a refundable bond of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000.
About 15 African countries are said to be on the list.
The visa bond pilot programme by the US Department of State
is said to target mostly African countries with high visa overstay — the
visitors are believed to have entered the country legally on student, tourist,
work visas and then stay past their visa expiration date.
“The purpose of the pilot program is to assess the operational
feasibility of posting, processing and discharging visa bonds, in coordination
with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to help assess the burden on
government agencies and identify any practical challenges related to visa
bonds,” the policy document read.
“The pilot program is designed to apply to nationals of
specified countries with high overstay rates to serve as a diplomatic tool to
encourage foreign governments to take all appropriate actions to ensure their
nationals timely depart the United States after making temporary visits.
“The Pilot Program will run for six months. During that
period, consular officers may require nonimmigrant visa applicants falling
within the scope of the Pilot Program to post a bond in the amount of $5,000, $10,000,
or $15,000 as a condition of visa issuance.
“The amount of the bond, should a bond be appropriate, will
be determined by the consular officer based on the circumstances of the visa
applicant.”
According to data from the DHS, almost 30,000 Nigerians
overstayed their B1/B2 visas in 2018, ranking as the 5th country with the most
visa overstays in the US. This makes Nigeria the African country with the most
visa overstays.
In January, the United States had imposed an immigrant visa
ban on Nigeria as a result of the country’s failure to comply with its
established identity-management and information-sharing criteria.
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