US Imposes $15,000 Visa Bond on 15 African Countries, Morocco Exempt

This new measure will come into effect from December 24, 2020. The 15 African countries concerned are: Angola, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Mauritania, Sudan, Sao Tome and Principe, Cape Verde and Burundi.

Travelers from these countries are now required to pay a bond of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 depending on the case, to obtain a 6-month tourist or business visa. However, the traveler who respects his stay in the United States will be able to obtain a refund of his bond.

The US State Department explains that this new measure will allow US consular officers to target tourists and business travelers from countries whose nationals had a "overstay rate" of 10% or more in 2019. Similarly, this bond could deter those whose stay period expires but manage to settle illegally in the United States.

US President Donald J. Trump had signed, on January 27, 2017, a decree banning the entry into the United States of all nationals, including refugees, from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Iran, Yemen and Somalia.