Update: US Exempts Nigeria From New $15,000 Visa Bond Policy

United States Mission said Nigeria is exempted from the new $15000 visa Bond policy.

 

News Rain Nigeria gathered that the US Mission in Nigeria made this known in a statement on its website on Tuesday.

The visa bond pilot programme is said to target mostly African countries with high visa overstay — the visitors are believed to have entered the country legally on student, tourist, work visas and then stay past their visa expiration date.

 

Given the fuss it generated, the US Mission in Nigeria in a tweet said that Nigeria was not included in this six months pilot programme.

The statement issued by the mission read: “Nigeria not included in this six months pilot program.

“In response to the April 2019 Presidential Memorandum on Combating High Nonimmigrant Overstay Rates, the Department and our embassies and consulates overseas conducted an in-depth analysis to identify and address root causes of overstays.

“Among other efforts to address this challenge, the State Department is considering additional steps to address overstays, including piloting a limited visa bonds program to test, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the operational feasibility of posting, processing, and discharging visa bonds as means to ensure the timely departure from the United States of certain travelers.

“Accordingly, the State Department will begin a limited six-month visa bond pilot program beginning on December 24, 2020.

“We are committed to combating visa overstays and making sure travelers to the United States respect our laws.

“The implementation of this pilot builds on our engagement with foreign governments in recent years and will ensure continued progress to reduce overstay rates.”