The United States Mission has said Nigeria is not included in the US’ pilot visa bond programme.

The US Mission in Nigeria made this known in a statement on its website, yesterday.

The outgoing administration of US President Donald Trump had issued a new temporary rule for African tourists.

The new rule could require tourist and business travellers from some countries, most in Africa, to pay a bond of as much as $15,000 to visit the United States.

The US State Department said the temporary final rule, which takes effect December 24 and runs through June 24, targets countries whose nationals have higher rates of overstaying B-2 visas for tourists and B-1 visas for business travellers.

The statement read, “In response to the April, 2019, Presidential Memorandum on Combating High Non-immigrant Overstay Rates, the Department and our embassies and consulates overseas conducted an in-depth analysis to identify and address root causes of overstays.

“Among other efforts to address this challenge, the State Department is considering additional steps to address overstays, including piloting a limited visa bonds programme to test, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, the operational feasibility of posting, processing, and discharging visa bonds as means to ensure the timely departure from the United States of certain travellers.

“Accordingly, the State Department will begin a limited six-month visa bond pilot programme beginning on December 24, 2020.

“We are committed to combating visa overstays and making sure travellers to the United States respect?our laws.

“The implementation of this pilot builds on our engagement with foreign governments in recent years and will ensure continued progress to reduce overstay rates. Nigeria is not included in this six months pilot programme.”

Earlier, speculations had triggered panic that Nigerians and other non-Americans travelling to the United States will, from next month, pay between $5,000 and $15,000 bond.

This is as it has been revealed that the new policy by the Trump administration takes effect from December 24, 2020, and will last until June 24, 2021.

The Temporary Final Rule (TFR) is contained in a Department of State Public Notice: 11218 (RIN 1400-AE99).

The rule aims to discourage non-citizens’ overstay in America.

The notice stated that the programme does not aim to assess whether issuing visa bonds will be effective in reducing the number of aliens who overstay their temporary business tour as visitor/tourist (B-1/B-2) visa.

“Visa applicants potentially subject to the Pilot Programme include aliens who: are applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure (B-1/B-2); are from countries with high visa overstay rates; and already have been approved by DHS for an inadmissibility waiver.”

The State Department noted that the program applies to nationals of specified countries with high overstay rates to serve as a diplomatic tool to encourage foreign governments to take all appropriate actions to ensure their nationals timely depart the U.S. after making temporary visits.

“The Pilot Programme will run for six months. During that period, consular officers may require non-immigrant visa applicants falling within the scope of the Pilot Programme to post a bond in the amount of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 as a condition of visa issuance”, it added.

The amount of the bond will be determined by the consular officer based on the circumstances of the visa applicant.

The rule authorizes consular officers to require the posting of a Maintenance of Status and Departure Bond (visa bond) by an alien applying for, and otherwise eligible to receive, a business visitor/tourist (B-1/B-2) visa.

The notice said the pilot program will help the State Department assess the operational feasibility of posting, processing, and discharging visa bonds, in coordination with DHS.

This, it noted, will inform any future decision concerning the possible use of visa bonds to address the national security and foreign policy objectives articulated in the Presidential Memorandum.

“The Presidential Memorandum highlights the fact that visa overstay rates are unacceptably high for nationals of certain countries and concludes that, “individuals who abuse the visa process and decline to abide by the terms and conditions of their visas, including their visa.”

An overstay is described as a non-immigrant lawfully admitted to the U.S. for an authorized period, but remains beyond his or her authorized period of admission.

The new policy comes months after America announced a plan to restrict students from Nigeria and others from admission of more than two years.

The DHS proposed a “maximum admission period of up to 2 years for certain students”.