US pilot programme may require visa applicants to post bonds up to $250,000

A pilot scheme now requiring some immigrant-visa applicants from the Dominican Republic to post a one-off bond has quietly begun rolling out under the US Department of Homeland Security, the Washington Beacon reported in an account picked up by Hindustan Times. Consular posts across the Caribbean are handling the programme, aimed at applicants who failed a public-charge screening and had no way to post a bond through US Citizenship and Immigration Services, officials are said to be weighing figures of either $100,000 or $250,000. A State Department official pointed to existing powers under the Immigration and Nationality Act as the legal basis, framing the goal as shielding public-benefit programmes from the expense of immigrants who might later need major medical or other assistance. A separate, already-finalised initiative covers applicants from 50 mostly African countries, setting B1/B2 bonds as high as $20,000.