Topline
The State Department is significantly expanding the number of countries in its visa bond program that requires some foreign citizens to provide a steep financial guarantee they will not overstay their visas.
Sticker shock: Tourist visas to the U.S. are about to get more expensive for citizens from 25 more countries.
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Key Facts
On Tuesday, the State Department significantly expanded a visa bond program first announced in August, adding 25 countries whose citizens may be required to post bonds of up to $15,000 to enter the U.S. on a tourist visa.
This brings the number of countries on the visa bond list to 38, of which 24—nearly two thirds—are in Africa.
The visa bond requirement for the newly added nations—which also include Venezuela and Cuba—will go into effect on Jan. 21.The government has framed the bond as a financial guarantee the visitors will not overstay their visas, noting the funds will be returned if the tourist leaves the U.S. on or before the visa expiry date, ends up not traveling to the U.S. or is denied admission to the U.S. at a port of entry.
Last July, Congress announced a $250 visa integrity fee for most non-immigrant U.S. visas, including tourist visas, beginning in 2026.
Crucial Quote
“Any citizen or national traveling on a passport issued by one of these countries, who is found otherwise eligible for a B1/B2 [tourist] visa, must post a bond for $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000,” an updated State Department web page reads. “The amount is determined at the time of the visa interview.”
Key Background
The U.S. was the only country to see international visitor spending decline in 2025, according to a study by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) that analyzed 184 destinations. The study blamed the drop on a number of Trump administration initiatives that make it more difficult or expensive for foreign travelers to enter the country. The U.S. Travel Association (USTA), the U.S. tourism industry’s lobby group, has identified “limited visa-free travel” as a barrier to increasing inbound international travel, noting the U.S. allows citizens from 43 countries to enter without a visa, far fewer than countries like the United Kingdom, which extends visa-free travel to 102 countries. When the U.S. visa bond program was first announced last August, executives at the USTA told Forbes the organization was more concerned with the $250 visa integrity fee recently enacted by Congress, which would apply across all non-immigrant visa categories and applicants. The USTA did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment on the visa bond program’s expansion.
Which Countries’ Tourists Are Impacted By The U.s. Visa Bond Program?
These are the 38 countries with implementation dates:
- Algeria (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Angola (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Antigua and Barbuda (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Bangladesh (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Benin (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Bhutan (Jan. 1, 2026)
- Botswana (Jan. 1, 2026)
- Burundi (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Cape Verde (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Central African Republic (Jan. 1, 2026)
- Cote d’Ivoire (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Cuba (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Djibouti (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Dominica (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Fiji (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Gabon (Jan. 21, 2026)
- The Gambia (Oct.11, 2025)
- Guinea (Jan. 1, 2026)
- Guinea Bissau (Jan. 1, 2026)
- Kyrgyzstan (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Malawi (Aug. 20, 2025)
- Mauritania (Oct. 23, 2025)
- Namibia (Jan. 1, 2026)
- Nepal (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Nigeria (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Sao Tome and Principe (Oct. 23, 2025)
- Senegal (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Tajikistan (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Tanzania (Oct. 23, 2025)
- Togo (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Tonga (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Turkmenistan (Jan. 1, 2026)
- Tuvalu (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Uganda (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Vanuatu (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Venezuela (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Zambia (Aug. 20, 2025)
- Zimbabwe (Jan. 21, 2026)
Big Number
$254 billion. That’s how much international tourists spent on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services in 2024, according to the International Trade Administration.
What We Don’t Know
Whether this additional financial hurdle for global tourists will impact attendance at the World Cup this summer, which the U.S. travel industry is counting on to help reverse the drop in international visitation. FIFA had projected the soccer tournament would drive $30.5 billion in economic output in the U.S. but that number was based on an assumption the U.S. will see an “influx of visitors” from foreign countries to fill stadiums and hotels. FIFA has told World Cup host cities to expect a 50/50 split between domestic and international visitors, multiple host city tourism officials told Forbes. Four of the countries added to the visa bond program list on Tuesday—Algeria, Cape Verde, the Ivory Coast and Senegal—have qualified for the World Cup.
Further Reading
Trump Administration: Some Foreign Tourists Must Post Bond Of Up To $15,000 To Enter U.S. (Forbes)
