In August 2025, a rumor began to spread that the U.S. Department of State had instituted a new rule that all U.S. visa applicants must now post a $15,000 bond.
One X post included a clip from a Fox News program in which the host interviewed Jonathan Fahey, former director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The policy was a pilot, they said, aimed at reducing the rate of visa overstays (archived):
The post had more than 4,800 views as of this writing, as well as 300 likes. But versions of the claim appeared on X, including one post (archived) by left-wing commentator Brian Tyler Cohen in which he claimed the U.S. government was going to "start charging foreign travelers up to $15,000." It also spread on Facebook.
As we outline below, it is true that the State Department has launched a pilot program in which they ask applicants from certain countries seeking certain visas to post a bond of $15,000, which the government returns if the applicants follow the terms of the visa — including leaving the country before the visa expires.
On Aug. 5, 2025, the State Department published a notice that from Aug. 20, 2025, citizens of Malawi and Zambia applying for B1 (temporary stay for business) and B2 (temporary stay for tourism) visas must post, at the time of application, a bond "in amounts of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, determined at [the] time of [the] visa interview." In other words, $15,000 was only the maximum amount an applicant might pay.
This, the notice said, was based on the two countries' B1/B2 overstay rates, which — as the Fox News host said — the agency argued were high. The policy was designed to prevent overstays from those visas.
The applicants will receive back the amount they posted if they meet the following conditions:
1. They applied for the visa and were denied;
2. Their travel plans changed and they did not visit the U.S. before the visa expired;
3. They left the U.S. on or before the date to which they are allowed to stay in the U.S.
Further, these visa holders must enter and leave the country through one of three airports on the East Coast: Boston Logan International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport or Washington Dulles International Airport.
The applicants will not get their money back if they break the above rules or if they come to the U.S. and seek to apply for asylum.
In the video interview, Fahey said that this program did not affect citizens from countries that have an agreement to be in the U.S. visa waiver program — that is, holders of passports that require no visa for entry to the U.S.
This being a pilot program, it was unclear as yet whether the State Department would seek to expand it, and what metrics they would use to assess it. However, in an email, a spokesperson for the agency said that the pilot program may evolve. "Countries are identified based on high overstay rates, screening and vetting deficiencies, concerns regarding acquisition of citizenship by investment without a residency requirement, and foreign policy considerations," the spokesperson said. "The Department of State may update the country list throughout the Visa Bond Pilot."