The United States on Monday announced that it will begin requiring some foreign tourists and business travellers to pay bonds of up to $15,000 under a new pilot programme starting August 20 to ensure they do not overstay their visas.

If travellers leave the US before their visa expires, their bond will be refunded in full, a notice from the US Department of State said.

The bonds will apply to applicants for B-1 or business and B-2, or tourist visas from countries with high rates of overstaying visas or where US authorities believe screening and identity verification are weak.

Travellers from countries that offer citizenship without residency requirements may also be included. However, the state department has not yet released the list of affected countries.

“The Pilot Program is further designed to serve as a diplomatic tool to encourage foreign governments to take all appropriate actions to ensure robust screening and vetting for all citizens in matters of identity verification and public safety,” the release said.

According to the notice, there were 5,00,000 suspected visa overstays in 2023.

In 2020, a similar effort was announced at the end of Trump’s first term. It included countries like Afghanistan, Chad, Iran, Syria and Yemen, but the policy was not fully implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Al Jazeera reported.

Under the new programme, consular officers will decide whether an applicant must pay a bond, which could be $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 based on the applicant’s “personal circumstances” to ensure that the visa holder leaves the United States on time.

Travellers will not be able to apply for exemptions, though consular officers may waive the requirement for limited reasons like “travel for US government employees or urgent humanitarian needs”.

Further, the notice said those required to pay a bond must enter and exit the US through pre-selected airports that will be announced before the programme begins.

The Department of State said it expects the programme to raise as much as $20 million over the course of the year.

The notice also notes that while consular officers have long held the authority to require visa bonds, this power has been rarely used due to concerns that the process could be “cumbersome”. The pilot programme aims to assess whether collecting and handling these payments is feasible in practice, despite previous concerns.

In June, the Trump administration announced that citizens from 12 countries would be banned from entering the United States, and those from seven other countries would face restrictions.

The directives are part of an immigration crackdown launched by Trump in his second term. It includes the deportation of undocumented migrants using military aircraft, as well as imposing additional security measures on foreign students applying to American educational institutes.