The U.S. Travel Association is sounding the alarm on the potential expansion of the visa bond program, which was made permanent by the U.S. Department of State this month. The program requires certain tourist and business visa applicants from 50 countries to post refundable bonds of up to $20,000.
Concerns Over Expansion
According to U.S. Travel Association President Geoff Freeman, there are already rumblings of expanding this program to additional countries where visas are required, which could have an extraordinarily detrimental effect on the U.S. economy and the travel industry.
The 50 countries currently covered by the program are predominantly in Africa, with a smaller number in Asia, the Caribbean, Central Asia, and Latin America. The administration said the program is aimed at reducing visa overstays from nationals of countries with high overstay rates or deficiencies in information-sharing, vetting, and document security.
New countries can be added to the list with 15 days’ notice, the State Department said. Under the rule, the bond can be forfeited if a traveler overstays or violates other conditions of their status.
Freeman said that while the countries currently covered by the program account for less than 2% of visitors to the United States, the U.S. travel industry is already nursing a 25% decline in travel from Canada, while travel from Asia is 50% of what it was in 2019.
Total overseas travel to the U.S. declined 4.3% year-to-date as of June, according to preliminary data from the National Travel and Tourism Office, including a 1.8% fall in June during the soccer World Cup.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
