The United States (US) has left Pakistan off a list of 50 countries whose citizens will need to post a financial guarantee of up to $20,000 before they can obtain a visitor visa, under a programme that came into force on August 1.
Diplomatic sources told a private media outlet that “Pakistan is not on the list of countries covered by the programme.”
The list, published in the US Federal Register, covers Bangladesh and Nepal from South Asia, while India has also been left out. Afghanistan and Iran do not feature on the list either, since Washington does not hold normal diplomatic relations with either country.
Consular officers under the programme can now ask selected applicants for B-1 business and B-2 tourist visas to pay a refundable bond ranging between $10,000 and $20,000.
The rules make permanent a pilot version of the scheme that Washington first rolled out in 2025, and they also raise the previous $15,000 ceiling on the bond while scrapping the $5,000 minimum that existed under the pilot.
The State Department linked the move to a review of that pilot, which it said cut down visa overstays from participating countries and pushed compliance with US immigration rules higher.
Department figures put overstays from the 50 countries at 45,488 in 2024, a number that fell to under 50 in the pilot’s first ten months. Visa issuance from these countries has also dropped, with the department noting that some applicants choose not to apply once a bond is required.
Thirty African countries make up most of the list, along with a mix of nations from Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Consular officers will decide case by case whether an applicant needs to pay a bond, rather than applying the requirement to every applicant from a listed country. Visitors get their money back if they stick to their visa conditions and exit the US before their stay runs out, while those who overstay or break the terms stand to lose the deposit.
