Tourist visa bond list expansion

As previously noted in this corner, traveling to the US as a visitor, either for business or for pleasure, has recently become a rich man’s privilege, at least for nationals of certain countries.

Starting in August of last year, the US State Department began implementing a 12-month pilot program requiring travelers from certain countries to post a bond as part of the visitor visa application process.

The amount of the bond, called Maintenance of Status and Departure Bond, ranges from $5,000 to $15,000, subject to the consular officer’s discretion, taking into account the visa applicant’s unique personal and financial circumstances.

While not all countries are impacted under the pilot program, among the inclusionary criteria utilized by the US State Department to evaluate the necessity for a bond are: (a) countries whose nationals have high “overstay” rates in the US; (b) countries with lackluster screening and vetting mechanisms; and (c) countries that offer citizenship via investment with no residency requirement.

In Philippine currency, the bond is roughly the equivalent of P295,000 to P885,000 per person, mere peanuts for the country’s billionaire politicos and crooked bureaucrats but prohibitively burdensome to the average Juan de la Cruz.

And yet fatefully or by design, the Filipinos are once again spared the embarrassment of being bunched up with a crowd of undesirable travelers to the US.

This, despite that fact that the Philippines, apart from its citizens’ penchant for committing immigration violations in America, also hosts a controversial retiree’s visa program and scandalous delayed birth registration policy through which foreigners, including shady characters and undercover intelligence operators from China, are able to acquire Filipino citizenship without undergoing intensive security vetting.

Originally, only Zambia and Malawi were on the list. In October of last year, Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, and Gambia were added to the roll. Recently, seven additional countries have been identified for inclusion: Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan.

The list, parenthetically, is by no means final or exclusive. As part of a pilot program, the list is subject to periodic revisions and refinements until the program is either discontinued or retained as a permanent or long-term government policy.

Under the program, affected visa applicants follow the regular visa application process. If the application is approvable on its face, the US consul issues a conditional notice of denial with instructions to post a bond using ICE Form I-352.

The bond is then paid via the US www.Pay.Gov interface.

Once proof of payment is submitted within 30 days of the visa interview and further confirmed that the applicant remains eligible for the visa, a single-entry visa with a 90-day validity period is issued.

Upon arrival in the US, CBP is required to limit a visitor’s admission to a maximum of 30 days.

As part of the bond’s conditions, only certain American airports can be used as entry/exit points by the visitor. Among the designated airports are Boston’s Logan International Airport, New York’s JFK International Airport, and Washington, D.C.’s Dulles-Washington International Airport.

The bond will be returned upon submission of proof that no overstaying or immigration violation of any kind had occurred. The bond is also refundable if travel is discontinued for whatever reason.