Radical change in DASH: Guarantee of up to $15,000 for a US visa

2025-08-05 11:52:24Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
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The US Department of State (DASH) has proposed that applicants for business and tourist visas submit a financial guarantee of up to $15,000 to enter the US.

In a notice expected to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the State Department is announcing the launch of a 12-month pilot program under which citizens from countries with high rates of illegal overstays and deficiencies in domestic document verification will be required to post a bond of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when applying for a visa.

This proposal comes within the framework of the Trump administration's tougher policies towards visa applicants.

A few days ago, the State Department announced that many of those seeking visa renewals will be required to complete an additional personal interview, which was previously not required.

Also included in the proposal is a requirement that applicants for the Visa Lottery Program present valid passports from their country of origin.

The summary of the announcement, published on Monday on the Federal Register website, notes that the testing program will begin within 15 days of the official publication and aims to protect the US government from financial liability in the event that visitors do not comply with visa conditions.

"People applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure, and who are citizens of countries identified by the State Department as having high visa violations, deficiencies in documentation verification, or who obtain citizenship through investment without requiring U.S. residency, may be included in this pilot program," the announcement states.

The list of countries to be included will be published immediately after the launch of the program.

This guarantee will not apply to citizens of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, and exceptions may be made in special cases. The proposal for a financial guarantee is not new, but has not been implemented so far.

Traditionally, DASH has avoided this requirement due to the complexity of the procedure for depositing and returning the guarantee, as well as due to the negative perceptions that may arise in public opinion.

However, according to the department, this previous stance is not supported by recent data, as visa guarantees have not been widely used recently.


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