The United States may require some tourist visa holders to pay a deposit of tens of thousands of yuan

The US government issued a notice on Monday (August 4th), stating that under a new pilot program to be launched in two weeks, the US may require some tourist and business visa holders to pay a deposit of up to $15,000. This move aims to crack down on tourists who overstay their visas.

Reuters reported that according to a notice in the Federal Register, this plan grants US consular officials the authority to impose a deposit on tourists from countries with high visa delinquency rates at their discretion, and may also apply to tourists from countries where screening and review information is considered insufficient.

According to the government notice, this new visa program will come into effect on August 20th and be valid for approximately one year.

The notice said that in November 2020, the last few months of Trump's first term, the US government launched a similar pilot program, but due to the reduction in global travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this program was not fully implemented.