RIGHT SPEAK: State Department Mulls Bond Program to Take Up to $15K From Foreigners Who Overstay Visas; US Seeks to Limit Visa Overstays with $15K Bond Requirement

State Department mulls bond program to take up to $15K from foreigners who overstay visas:

Foreigners who overstay certain visas in the US could soon face penalties of up to $15,000.

The State Department is preparing to launch a yearlong visa pilot program for tourism and business-related entry into the US on Aug. 20, featuring bonds that foreigners from select countries must pay to enter the US.

Those bonds could be $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000, according to a Federal Register notice first reported by Reuters. If individuals overstay their visas, they could lose that money.

Foreigners who comply with their visa requirements at the end of their stay will receive their funds back.

The visa bond pilot program is specific to applicants for B-1/B-2 visas — which are used for business and tourism — who hail from countries known for having high overstay rates or where vetting is believed to be subpar.

State Department officials will determine which countries the pilot program will target and announce them within days.

Countries that have faced scrutiny from the Trump administration over visas include: Eritrea, Chad, Haiti, Yemen and Myanmar. Other countries such as Burundi, Djibouti and Togo are known for having elevated visa overstay rates.

The move comes against the backdrop of a broader crackdown on illegal immigration into the US.

Some studies have suggested that more illegal immigration into the US comes from individuals overstaying their visas than crossing the US-Mexico border. This includes one study that pegged visa overstays as 40% of the illegal immigrant population. --->READ MORE HERE

US seeks to limit visa overstays with $15K bond requirement:

he State Department is launching a pilot program that would require migrants from some countries to post a bond as high as $15,000 to secure a visa for business or personal travel, the latest move by the Trump administration to crack down on countries with high visa overstay rates.

The Monday rule posted by the department does not list which countries will be affected but said it would target those with high visa overstay rates or poor internal vetting.

Selected countries will be given 15 days notice, and their nationals could be asked to post a $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 bond.

The State Department argued the program could “serve as a critical diplomatic tool to compel other countries to address overstays by their nationals and to address deficiencies in their identity verification standards and practices.”

“The Department believes these three levels will provide consular officers discretion to require a bond in an amount that is sufficient enough to ensure the alien does not overstay, while taking into account the visa applicant’s circumstances,” it said in the rule.