WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — The United States (US) Department of State says it is expanding its visa bond programme to apply to a total of 50 countries, including Grenada, on April 2 to “combat illegal overstay rates”.

The State Department said on Wednesday that the programme will require foreign nationals from these countries to post a bond of US$15,000 before receiving B1 or B2 visas for business and tourism in the United States.

“The bond will be returned to visa recipients who return home in compliance with the terms of the visa and the bond or does not travel,” the State Department said.

Besides Grenada, the State Department said the new countries included in the visa bond programme are Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia.

The State Department said these countries join 38 nations that are already included in the visa bond programme.

The Caribbean countries already included are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and Cuba.

Others, which are largely African countries, comprise Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

“The visa bond programme has already proven effective at drastically reducing the number of visa recipients who overstay their visas and illegally remain in the United States,” the State Department said.

It said nearly 1,000 foreigners have been issued visas under the programme, and that 97 per cent of bonded travellers have returned home from the United States on time.

The State Department said it may continue to place visa bonds on countries based on a range of immigration risk factors.

“The expanded visa bond programme saves the American taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars every year,” it said, stating that it costs the US taxpayer over US$18,000 on average to remove an immigrant illegally present in the United States.

“The Department of State is saving US taxpayers up to US$800 million per year that would otherwise be required to remove these aliens who overstay,” the statement added.