The United States has announced a new update to its visa bond list, adding Bangladesh among 38 countries whose citizens may now be required to deposit a financial bond when applying for a U.S. visa. The updated list was released by the U.S. Department of State on Tuesday, and the new rule will take effect from January 21. Under the policy, applicants from these countries may need to pay between 5,000 and 15,000 U.S. dollars as a visa bond.
According to the announcement, most of the countries included in the list are from Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The visa bond system is designed to discourage visa overstays by requiring a refundable financial guarantee from applicants. The measure is expected to make obtaining U.S. visas more difficult for many citizens of the listed countries.
The newly added countries include Bangladesh, Algeria, Angola, Antigua, Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.