By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Facts have emerged on why the United States has made it a compulsory requirement for tourist or business visa applicants from Malawi and Zambia to pay the sum of $15,000 (£11,300) before their application can be processed.
The amount which is refundable at the end of visit is aimed at curbing high rate of visa overstays from these countries, the US state department announced on Tuesday.
The 12-month pilot programme also applies “where screening and vetting information is considered deficient”, a notice published by the department stated.
“Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure (B-1/B-2) and who are nationals of countries identified by the Department as having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering Citizenship by Investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement, may be subject to the pilot program.
“Consular officers may require covered non-immigrant visa applicants to post a bond of up to $15,000 as a condition of visa issuance, as determined by the consular officers,” the notice stated.
Other countries around the African continent could also face such compulsory requirement in coming days, officials said.
Main Targets
The state department says the major target for the new policy are individuals who are involved in activities that “run counter” to US national interests.
Also in the list of major target are persons who have taken part participated in some form of pro-Palestinian activity.
US authorities had also denied visas in cases where an individual appears to have a link with some sort of criminal record, or legal infractions like driving over the speed limit, immigration lawyers have said.
This is part of efforts by the President Donald Trump’s administration to tackle illegal immigration. Since he came to power in January, he has igned orders to roll back humanitarian programmes for migrants from certain countries who are already in the US. Some of his executive orders targeting migrants took effect within 24 hours after his resumption for second term in office.
Rate of Overstays
Findings by Heritage Times HT indicates that Zambia and Malawi are both smaller countries with relatively few tourism- or business-related arrivals in the US.
According to available reports, only 1,655 people arrived from Malawi in the 2023 fiscal year for business or pleasure. Of this figure, 237 overstayed their visas.
Meanwhile, 3,493 people arrived from Zambia for tourism or business during the same time frame. Of that total, 388 surpassed their visa limits.
This is an insignificant figure compared to larger countries where over 20,000 overstays were recorded.
For instance, at least 20,811 Brazilians stayed in the US longer than their tourism or business visas allowed, while no fewer than 40,884 overstays were recorded from Colombia.
Analysts have said the newly imposed bonds put travel to the US which is already costly further out of reach for citizens from countries considered impoverished.
