US visa bond rule spares Pakistan while 50 countries face new immigration rules
The United States has officially introduced a permanent visa bond programme for selected countries, but Pakistan is not among those included. The new policy came into effect on August 1 and applies only to applicants from countries listed by the US government.
According to the list published in the US Federal Register, citizens from 50 countries may be asked to provide a refundable financial guarantee before receiving a US visitor visa. Pakistan has not been included in the programme.
Pakistan not included in visa bond programme
Diplomatic sources confirmed that Pakistan is not among the countries covered under the new US visa bond rule.
Among South Asian countries, Bangladesh and Nepal are included in the programme, while India, like Pakistan, is not on the list. Afghanistan and Iran have also not been included because the United States does not maintain normal diplomatic relations with those countries.
The decision means that Pakistani applicants for US visitor visas will continue to follow the existing visa application process without being subject to the new bond requirement under this programme.
Why the US introduced the new rule
The US State Department said the programme was made permanent after reviewing a pilot project launched in 2025.
According to US officials, the pilot programme significantly reduced the number of visa overstays and improved compliance with immigration rules. These results encouraged Washington to expand and permanently adopt the policy.
The department said there were 45,488 visa overstays from the 50 participating countries during 2024. However, during the first 10 months of the pilot programme, the number of overstays dropped to fewer than 50.
Officials also noted that visa issuance declined in some participating countries because some applicants chose not to continue with the application process after learning about the bond requirement.
How the visa bond system works
The programme applies to selected applicants seeking B-1 business visas and B-2 tourist visas from countries included in the scheme.
Under the new rules, US consular officers may require certain applicants to deposit a refundable bond ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 before a visa is issued.
The updated regulations also increased the maximum bond amount from $15,000 to $20,000 and removed the earlier minimum bond option of $5,000 that was available during the pilot programme.
The bond is refundable if the visitor follows all visa conditions and leaves the United States before the authorised period of stay ends.
However, applicants who overstay their visas or violate immigration rules may lose the deposited amount.
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The US government clarified that the visa bond requirement is not automatically applied to every applicant from the listed countries.
Instead, consular officers will decide on a case-by-case basis whether a financial guarantee is necessary before issuing a visa.
Officials said the policy is intended to reduce visa overstays while allowing genuine travellers to continue visiting the United States for tourism or business purposes.
For Pakistan, the latest decision means that applicants are not affected by the new visa bond programme and will continue to apply under the existing visa procedures unless future policy changes are announced.
