The U.S. Department of State has mandated that Nigerians seeking a B1 or B2 visa post a bond of between $5,000 and $15,000 under a new requirement announced on Tuesday.
The bond amount, to be determined at the point of interview, is refundable provided the traveller returns to their home country on the promised date and does not breach any other rules of the visa terms.
“A bond does not guarantee visa issuance. If someone pays fees without a consular officer’s direction, the fees will not be returned,” the State Department said on Tuesday.
All Nigerian travellers with tourist and business visas who posted visa bonds must also enter the U.S. only through designated airports: Boston Logan International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
“The applicant must also submit a Department of Homeland Security Form I-352. Applicants must agree to the terms of the bond through the Department of the Treasury’s online payment platform Pay.gov. This requirement applies regardless of place of application;” the travel requirement stated.
President Donald Trump’s administration, which has repeatedly vowed to cut down immigration, imposed the bonds as a financial fail-safe to discourage visa overstays.
The State Department said that Nigerians on B1 and B2 visas had a 5.5 per cent overstay rate in a statement restricting their entry to the U.S. last month.
The U.S. on December 16 suspended immigrant and non-immigrant visas in the B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J categories, citing difficulties in vetting applicants from a country affected by Boko Haram insurgency and other Islamic State-linked activities.
The visa bond requirement will take effect January 21, 2026, in the following countries: Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
The bonds were already in force in Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, and Turkmenistan as of January 1, 2026.
