Sunday 02 / August / 2026
Muscat: The United States has permanently adopted its visa bond programme after a year-long pilot, allowing consular officers to require certain business and tourist visa applicants to post a bond of up to $20,000 before a visa is issued.
The new rule takes effect on August 3 and currently applies to nationals of 50 countries, including 30 countries of Africa, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
Oman along with other GCC countries are not on the list.
The programme covers applicants for B-1 (business) and B-2 (tourist) visas. Under the final rule, consular officers may require eligible applicants from designated countries to post a bond of up to $20,000 as a condition for receiving a visa.
The US State Department said a review of the pilot programme found that visa bonds were an effective tool for improving compliance with visa conditions and reducing the number of visitors who overstay their visas.
During the pilot phase, bond amounts ranged from $5,000 to $15,000. Under the permanent programme, the $5,000 option has been removed, while the maximum bond has been increased to $20,000.
US authorities have indicated that additional countries could be added to the programme in the future. Immigration advocates, however, have criticised the policy, arguing that it could discourage legitimate travel to the United States.
