Nationals of Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi will have to fork out about U$15,000 to be able to get a US Visa.
According to the new policy, the President Donald Trump’s administration aims at deterring Visa overstays and also limit the influx of migrants to the United States.
The U.S. recently added Uganda and Burundi (and previously Tanzania) to its Visa Bond Pilot Program, requiring eligible applicants for visitor (B1/B2) visas to pay a refundable bond of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, effective January 2026 for Uganda/Burundi and October 2025 for Tanzania.
The new fees are required on top of the standard application fees (around U$185 for B1/B2) to combat visa overstays, with the bond refunded if visa conditions are met.
Burundi according to US data, has the highest U.S. B1/B2 visa overstay rate, which is over 15%. Ugandans, on the other hand, have an overstay rate of 8.42% on the same visas.
The updated list of countries include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile USA has since enforced complete travel bans on nationals of South Sudan, Syria, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, signalling a broader crackdown on immigration.
