Starting August 3, 2026, the U.S. Department of State makes the B-1/B-2 visa bond program permanent, and travelers from listed countries face higher bond amounts of $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000 before a visitor visa can issue.
That is not a new pilot headline. The final rule scheduled for the Federal Register locks the bond tool in place after a year-long pilot and raises the top amount from $15,000 to $20,000 while removing the old $5,000 option.
If you hold a passport from a country on the current bond list, or you host visitors from those countries, treat August 3 as a hard planning date for interviews, cash, and commercial-air routing, not as abstract immigration news.
- What changes: The pilot becomes a permanent Visa Bond Program on August 3, 2026.
- Bond levels: Consular officers set $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000, with $15,000 the expected default.
- Who is covered: B-1/B-2 applicants who are nationals of listed countries on travel.state.gov.
- Refund path: Full refund when the traveler complies and departs on time by commercial air or CBP preclearance.
- Traveler action: Confirm the country list, budget the bond, and plan commercial-air entry and exit only.
What the final rule actually does
The Department of State filed a final rule, Public Notice 13089, RIN 1400-AG33, that converts the Visa Bond Pilot Program into a permanent Visa Bond Program under INA section 221(g)(3). The public-inspection text says the rule is scheduled for Federal Register publication on August 3, 2026, and is effective on the date of publication.
That timing matters for anyone with a consular interview in early August. A case that is otherwise approvable on August 3 or later is handled under the permanent schedule of bond amounts, not under the pilot schedule that ran from August 20, 2025.
The rule authorizes consular officers to require a bond as a condition of issuing a business visitor, tourist, or combined B-1/B-2 visa for covered applicants. It does not replace the underlying visa eligibility decision.
An applicant still has to qualify for the visa first.
According to the agency summary in the public-inspection package, the pilot supplied enough operational data for State, Treasury, and the Department of Homeland Security to keep administering bonds, refunds, and breach decisions. The permanent program continues that shared process rather than inventing a new bond system from scratch.
Who must post a bond
Coverage is nationality-based, not destination-based. The traveler decision turns on the passport country of the applicant, not on where the person plans to visit inside the United States.
The Department will continue to post covered countries on travel.state.gov. The final rule says nationals already subject to the pilot remain subject on the permanent program’s effective date, and the list can change on a rolling basis.
Additions get at least 15 days of notice before they take effect. Removals can take effect immediately.
That asymmetry means a traveler should recheck the published list close to interview day rather than relying on a screenshot from last month.
Specialist immigration analysis from Fragomen notes that the current list includes about 50 countries, many of them in Africa, and that some nationals may also face separate nationality-based travel restrictions. Where a travel ban already blocks B-1/B-2 visas, the bond rules matter only for any narrow exempt path that still allows an application.
Visa Waiver Program travelers and people who already hold valid, unexpired B-1/B-2 visas are outside the ordinary bond-issuance path described for new applications under the program. The practical focus is the next consular application from a listed nationality.
How much money and how payment works
Under the permanent regulation text, the officer chooses among three bond amounts: $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000. The pilot used $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000.
The permanent program drops the $5,000 floor and raises the ceiling to $20,000.
Fragomen’s same-day read of the advance rule says consular officers are expected to set $15,000 in ordinary cases and may move to $10,000 or $20,000 after reviewing the applicant’s circumstances. Travelers should budget for the $15,000 default unless the consular officer states a different figure.
The sequence is more important than the sticker price. After the interview, if the officer finds the applicant otherwise eligible, the application can be refused temporarily under the bond process.
The traveler then posts the bond through the designated DHS Form I-352 path and the Treasury payment portal at pay.gov, personally or through a third party.
Only after the bond posts and the officer completes final review can the visa issue. The public-inspection rule states that visas under the program may be valid for a single entry or for multiple entries within three to 12 months, depending on reciprocity and other factors, and that the visa will carry an annotation showing a bond was posted.
There is no public application form for a traveler-initiated bond waiver. The rule allows the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, or a designee, to waive the bond for a person, country, or category when the waiver is not contrary to the national interest.
Consular officers may recommend a waiver for a significant national or humanitarian interest based on purpose of travel and employment stated in the application and interview, but applicants cannot force that review through a separate petition.
Commercial air is part of the bond, not a suggestion
Refund eligibility is not limited to “do not overstay.” The final rule’s compliance language requires covered travelers to enter and depart the United States through commercial airports of entry, with CBP preclearance locations also allowed.
That clause is easy to miss if a family usually drives across a land border or sails on a cruise that clears in a way that does not satisfy the commercial-air condition. For bond holders, the itinerary itself is a compliance instrument.
If you are planning a U.S. visit under a bonded B-1/B-2 visa, book and keep evidence of commercial air arrival and commercial air departure.
Hold boarding passes, e-ticket receipts, and airline records that show the ports of entry and exit.
For travelers choosing a major U.S. network for that commercial-air path, Deep Arrival’s United Airlines guide is a practical place to compare baggage, boarding, and basic-economy limits before you lock a ticket that also has to satisfy bond routing.
International arrivals into a named U.S. gateway still need terminal-level planning.
The Brussels Airlines terminal guide for JFK is one example of how to map a commercial-air landing at a major U.S. airport rather than treating “fly to America” as a single generic step.
How refunds, extensions, and breaches work
When a bonded traveler complies, the bond is cancelled and the full amount is returned without interest. The public-inspection rule describes automated cancellation after timely departure and also allows a manual cancellation path for a visa holder who never traveled and wants the bond released after the visa is physically cancelled.
Compliance includes more than the exit stamp. The traveler must maintain status, avoid unauthorized employment, and either leave before the authorized stay ends or timely file an extension of stay or change of status request with USCIS.
If a timely extension or change request is denied, the traveler must depart within 10 days of the denial to stay in compliance. Filing an untimely extension or change request, remaining after the authorized period, or filing asylum or other Form I-589 humanitarian protection can be treated as a bond breach under the permanent text.
State and DHS still share roles after a suspected breach. The rule describes a preliminary finding process that can forward the case to DHS, which makes the final breach determination and notifies the obligor.
A breach determination can be appealed under DHS procedures.
Fragomen also flags a planning caution for people who hope to extend or change status inside the United States: the State Department commentary says USCIS may treat the existence of a visa bond as a negative discretionary factor in those adjudications. That does not automatically deny the filing, but it is a reason to assemble stronger positive evidence if an extension is part of the trip plan.
What the pilot numbers mean for trip feasibility
The final rule’s benefits and costs discussion is blunt about demand, not only about overstays. State says about 20,000 visa applications required a bond during the pilot, and close to half of those applicants paid.
Aggregate temporary money held during the pilot is described as about $115 million.
The same discussion states that B-1/B-2 visa issuance for pilot countries fell about 83 percent in the first 10 months compared with the prior year. Skift’s July 31 report frames that drop as both a compliance story and a deterrence story for tourism and business travel from the listed markets.
For a traveler, the practical translation is simple. Even if you can afford the bond, you should expect more friction, longer total processing time, and a higher chance that relatives or clients delay or cancel U.S. trips.
Hosts in the United States should not assume a June or July interview plan still works without reconfirming bond cash and commercial-air tickets.
The Department also says it expects the permanent rule to keep reducing demand from nationals of countries that remain on the list. That is a policy goal written into the cost section, not a rumor from secondary commentary.
| If you are | What to do now |
|---|---|
| A B-1/B-2 applicant from a listed country with an interview on or after August 3 | Budget $15,000 unless told otherwise, prepare pay.gov access, and plan only commercial-air entry and exit for refund eligibility. |
| Hosting family or business visitors from listed countries this fall | Recheck the travel.state.gov country list, confirm who will post the bond, and do not book nonrefundable U.S. ground plans until the visa is issued. |
| Holding a valid B-1/B-2 issued before the permanent program | Keep that visa’s terms, but treat any new application as a fresh bond case under the permanent amounts and commercial-air rules. |
| Considering land or cruise entry after a bonded visa issues | Do not treat that as a compliant substitute for the commercial-air entry and exit condition written into the bond rules. |
- Cash timing: The bond posts after the interview and before visa issuance, so cash or third-party payment must be ready on interview week.
- Itinerary design: Build the trip around commercial airports and keep proof of those flights for refund processing.
- List volatility: Recheck the official country list within two weeks of the interview because additions can land with 15 days’ notice.
- Extension risk: If the plan depends on changing or extending status inside the United States, budget extra evidence and legal advice because a bond can weigh against discretion.
- Federal Register text: Confirm the August 3 publication version matches the public-inspection amounts and commercial-air conditions.
- Country list updates: Watch travel.state.gov for additions with 15-day lead time or immediate removals.
- Consular practice: Local posts may vary on how fast pay.gov confirmation clears and how often officers use $10,000 or $20,000 instead of $15,000.
- Reciprocity windows: Final visa validity still depends on country reciprocity tables that can limit single-entry or multi-entry windows.
Confirm the bond amount the officer assigns, post it only through the official form and payment path, and keep commercial-air proof for both ends of the trip before you spend on hotels, tickets, or meetings that cannot move.
Does the permanent program start on August 3 even if my interview was scheduled earlier?
The final rule is scheduled to publish and take effect on August 3, 2026. Cases decided under the permanent program use the new bond levels, so treat interview day under the then-current rule text rather than the date you first booked the appointment.
Is the bond a fee the government keeps in every case?
No. The bond is refundable when the traveler complies with status rules and the commercial-air entry and exit conditions, then timely departs or properly maintains a timely extension or change of status.
Interest is not paid on cancelled bonds.
Can I apply for a waiver if I cannot afford $15,000?
There is no traveler-facing waiver application. A consular officer may recommend a national or humanitarian interest waiver, and senior Consular Affairs leadership can grant one, but applicants should not plan a trip on the hope of a discretionary waiver.
Do Visa Waiver Program travelers need a bond?
The program described in the final rule targets B-1/B-2 visa applicants from designated countries. Visa Waiver Program travel is a separate pathway and is not the bond-issuance process for listed B visa applicants.
What happens if I overstay or file for asylum while bonded?
The permanent rule treats remaining after the authorized period, untimely extension or change filings, failure to leave within 10 days after a denial, and Form I-589 asylum or related humanitarian filings as bond violations that can forfeit the full amount after DHS review.
