00:00On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department announced to the countries that shall be subject to a pilot program that could see certain applicants for U.S. visas paying a bond which could be as much as $15,000.
00:13After much concern over the unpublished notice on the U.S. Federal Register's website about the pilot visa bond program on Monday,
00:22on Tuesday, confirmation that Trinidad and Tobago is not on what turned out to be a very short list.
00:28On Tuesday, the State Department said in a statement that it has identified nationals of the following countries as subject to visa bonds based on their B1-B2 overstay rate,
00:39per the Department of Homeland Security's FY2023 overstay report, Malawi and Zambia.
00:47The notice on the U.S. Federal Register's website said this list may be amended throughout the pilot with 15 days from announcement to enactment.
00:55The State Department said that starting on August 20, 2025, any citizen or national traveling on a passport issued by one of these countries, Malawi and Zambia,
01:06who is found otherwise eligible for a B1-B2 visa, must post a bond in amounts of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 determined at time of visa interview.
01:18Furthermore, the applicant must also submit a Department of Homeland Security form agreeing to the terms of the bond through the Department of Treasury's online payment platform, pay.gov.
01:30The American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago, Amcham TNT, said on Monday that it firmly believes that such a policy should not apply to citizens of Trinidad and Tobago
01:40who have consistently demonstrated compliance with U.S. visa conditions.
01:45Amcham TNT further said that according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's FY2023 entry-exit overstay report,
01:53Appendix C, Trinidad and Tobago's overstay rate remains one of the lowest in the region at just 2.43%.
02:02Amcham TNT said this was one of the lowest in the world and in the Americas.
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