The United States has made permanent a visa bond programme that allows consular officers to require deposits of up to $20,000 from certain B-1/B-2 visitor visa applicants, and Nigeria remains on the list of affected countries.
The final rule, contained in Public Notice 13089, takes effect on Monday, August 3, 2026, the same day it is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register. Nigeria, which was added to the original one-year pilot on January 21, 2026, will continue under the permanent scheme.
Bond Levels and Conditions
The permanent programme sets three possible bond amounts: $10,000, $15,000 and $20,000. The standard level is $15,000 unless a consular officer determines that a lower or higher figure is appropriate based on an applicant’s circumstances.
Applicants must pay the bond electronically through the U.S. Treasury’s payment platform before a visa is issued. The deposit is refunded if the visa holder complies with the terms of admission and leaves the United States before the authorised period of stay expires. It can be forfeited for overstaying, violating visa conditions, filing certain immigration applications outside prescribed timelines, or other breaches.
The State Department stated that the rule finalises the temporary measure that launched a 12-month Visa Bond Pilot Programme on August 20, 2025, and establishes a permanent visa bond programme. Consular officers may require covered nonimmigrant visa applicants to post a bond of up to $20,000 as a condition of visa issuance.
Reasons for Nigeria’s Inclusion
The requirement applies to nationals of countries identified on the basis of high visa overstay rates, deficiencies in information sharing, inadequate identity verification and criminal-record checks, and weaknesses in screening, vetting and travel-document security.
U.S. authorities cited security concerns linked to the activities of groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State, which they said created substantial screening and vetting challenges. They also pointed to overstay rates of 5.56% for B-1/B-2 visas and 11.90% for F, M and J visas as justification for Nigeria’s continued inclusion.
Lists of affected countries will be published on travel.state.gov at least 15 days before any new country is added. Countries removed from the list will no longer face the requirement immediately.
Path to the Permanent Rule
The United States imposed partial travel restrictions on Nigerian visa applicants on December 16, 2025, placing Nigeria among 15 predominantly African nations subject to tighter controls. On January 21, 2026, Nigeria was added to the Visa Bond Pilot Programme, which at that stage covered 38 countries, 24 of them African.
Under the pilot, applicants from affected countries could be required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 depending on the outcome of their interviews. The State Department said the permanent programme follows the pilot’s success in reducing visa overstays. In its first 10 months the pilot recorded fewer than 50 overstays from the covered countries, compared with 45,488 overstays from the same countries in fiscal year 2024. Visa issuances to affected countries fell by 83% during the pilot period, partly because some applicants withdrew after being asked to post a bond.
Impact on Nigerian Travellers
The permanent rule raises the maximum bond from $15,000 to $20,000 and retains Nigeria on the list. For Nigerian business travellers and tourists seeking B-1/B-2 visas, the change means a potentially higher financial outlay and greater uncertainty at the application stage. Posting a bond does not guarantee that a visa will be issued, and any payment made without the express direction of a consular officer will not be refunded.
