US could charge some “high-risk” tourists bonds up to $15,000 under pilot program 

The United States is set to launch a pilot programme requiring some visitors to provide an up-front bond of $15,000 (almost €13,000), intended to ensure they leave the country at the end of their visa period.

Announced by the State Department on 4 August 2025, the scheme is due to start on 20 August and will be trialled for a year, affecting arrivals from an as-yet unconfirmed list of what the US deems nations at high risk of having deficient security practices or of sending visa overstayers.

Such travellers could face bond demands of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 during their US visa application process – money which will only be refunded when the visitors in question leave again as per their permitted length of stay.

Under legislation enacted in the “Big Beautiful Bill”, the Trump administration has already introduced a “ visa integrity fee” of $250 (around €214), payable by everyone travelling to the US on a non-immigrant visa.

Now, the newly announced and far more expensive fees for some are designed to discourage overstays and help cover the administrative and social costs entailed. But commentators argue the charge could be counterproductive, with the need for such a high advance payment making visits to the US unaffordable for some, contributing to the so-called “Trump Slump” – a months-long decline in international arrivals to the US that has been blamed on President Donald Trump’s hardline border control and immigration strategies and his controversial foreign policies.

Amid low demand, transatlantic airfares have fallen dramatically, and airlines have adjusted schedules to cater to increased demand for other destinations. Arrivals to the US have been consistently down by double-digit percentages from Canada and Mexico – neighbouring countries where citizens have been particularly enraged by perceived threats and insults, such as references to sovereign Canada as a mere 51^st state of America.

Travel firms in the US, from Airbnb to Expedia and Hilton warned earlier this year of “pressure and “soft” results, and in May it was reported the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) had shared exclusive data with Bloomberg showing the sector is likely to lose $12.5 billion (€11.2 billion) in travel revenue in 2025.

Visitors spending is predicted to decline by 7% year-on-year and 22% since the metric’s 2019 peak. Notably, the US sector is the only one among 184 global economies analysed by WTTC and Oxford Economics, projected to see losses. While other nations are “rolling out the welcome mat”, in the words of WTTC President and Chief Executive Officer Julia Simpson, “it feels like the US is putting up a ‘we are closed’ sign at their doorway.”

However, the US Travel Association, which has previously signalled an employment alarm for the sector, appears to be downplaying the potential impact of the latest deterrent to travel, calling the visa bond pilot program’s scope “limited, with an estimated 2,000 applicants affected, most likely from only a few countries with relatively low travel volume to the United States.”