The United States requires visa applicants from Zambia and Malawi to pay a high deposit

The US government has announced the trial of a visa deposit program. Citizens of African countries Zambia and Malawi must pay a deposit when applying for US tourist and business visas, with a maximum guarantee amount of 15,000 US dollars.

According to reports from Reuters and NBC, the US State Department's website released a notice on Tuesday (August 5th) saying: Starting from August 20, 2025, any citizen or national holding a passport issued by these two countries and otherwise qualifying for a B1/B2 visa must pay a deposit of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000. The specific amount will be determined during the visa interview.

The US State Department said that visa holders from Zambia and Malawi can only arrive and depart from the United States at three entry points, including Boston Logan International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.

The amount of the visa deposit will be determined by the consular officer based on the specific circumstances of each individual applicant. This may include "any information provided by the visa applicant during the visa application or visa interview, including the purpose of travel, current employment, income, skills and education, etc."

The Visa deposit pilot program will last until August 5, 2026, and is specifically applicable to certain foreign individuals applying for B1 or B2 visas to travel to the United States for business or tourism. The maximum stay allowed for each type of visa is six months, but an extension can be applied for in some cases.

If the visa applicant leaves the United States within the permitted time frame of the visa and complies with all the terms of the visa status, the deposit will be refunded to the applicant.

It is still unclear why Zambia and Malawi were chosen for the deposit pilot program, as according to the latest Department of Homeland Security overstay report for fiscal year 2023, the list of countries with the highest visa overstay rates includes Chad, Laos and Haiti. In total, approximately 500,000 people entered the United States during this period and continued to stay after their visas expired.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to a notice in the Federal Register, U.S. consuls around the world may, at their discretion, impose deposits on visitors from countries with high visa delinquency rates, but no specific countries are mentioned.

A spokesperson for the US State Department said on Monday (the 4th) that countries requiring a deposit will be determined based on "high rates of overstay, insufficient screening and review, concerns over no residence requirements for investment citizenship, and foreign policy considerations."

The unnamed spokesperson said that the list of countries might be updated from time to time.