Starting on 20 August, the United States is implementing a 12-month pilot project as part of its policy to combat illegal immigration. Visa applicants will be required to pay a deposit of up to $15,000, or approximately £12,000.
This measure is one of a number of initiatives launched under the Trump administration. The specific list of countries affected will not be published until the program is launched, but many African countries are already being targeted.
Since Donald Trump’s return to power, his administration has redoubled its efforts to strengthen border controls and speed up deportations. In this context, the US State Department specifies that the countries affected by the new deposit are those whose nationals have ‘high rates of overstaying their authorized length of stay’ or those for which ‘control and verification information is deemed insufficient’, criteria left to the discretion of consular officials.
In Africa, Angola, Liberia, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cape Verde and Burkina Faso could be affected. In 2023, these countries had visa overstay rates of more than 10%.
Approximately 500,000 people are believed to have exceeded the legal length of stay.
Nationals of these countries will soon be required to pay a deposit of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when applying for a visa, whether for tourism or business purposes.
This deposit will be refunded if the visa is refused or if the applicant complies with the conditions of stay (return to the country of origin within the specified time frame, no employment in the United States, etc.).
According to US authorities, approximately 500,000 people exceeded the legal length of stay in the United States in 2023.
Source: RFI