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Zambian and Malawian citizens traveling to the United States will be required to pay an amount of US$5,000, US$10,000, or US$15,000, for Visas starting August 20, 2025, the U.S Department of State has announced.
The Department of State has identified Zambians and Malawians as subject to visa bonds, as outlined in INA Section 221(g)(3).
This is also in line with the recently published Temporary Final Rule (TFR) establishing the pilot program, based on their B1/B2 overstay rate per the Department of Homeland Security’s FY 2023 Overstay Report.
“The applicant must also submit a Department of Homeland Security Form I-352 agreeing to the terms of the bond, through the Department of the Treasury’s online payment platform Pay.gov,” it said.
The Department stated that the requirement applied regardless of place of application and that applicants should only submit a Form I-352 to post a bond after being directed to do so by a consular officer.
“A bond does not guarantee visa issuance, and if any individual pays fees without being directed to do so by a consular officer, that money will not be returned,” it said.
As a condition of the bond, all visa holders who have posted a visa bond should arrive to and depart from the United States via one of the ports of entry.
The Department of State warned that failure to do so may result in being denied entry or a departure not being appropriately registered at Boston Logan International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.
It stated that the full visa bond amount would be returned to the applicant if the applicant complies with all the terms of the non-immigrant visa status and with the terms of the visa bond, which were set out on the bond form (Department of Homeland Security’s Form I-352 Immigration Bonds) and in the Federal Register.
“The bond will be canceled and the bond money will be automatically returned if the visa holder departs from the United States on or before the date to which he or she is authorized to remain in the United States, or the visa holder does not travel to the United States before the expiration of the visa,” the Department of State said.
The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for determining that a visa holder has breached the terms of the visa bond.
The Department of State said it would forward cases in which the visa holder appears to not have complied with the terms of the visa bond to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for a breach determination, including, but not limited to, the following circumstances:
“The visa holder departs from the United States after the date to which he or she is authorized to remain in the United States, the visa holder remains in the United States after the date to which he or she is authorized to remain, and does not depart,” it said.
The Department of State would also forward the case if the visa holder applied to adjust out of non-immigrant status, including claiming asylum.
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