Visa bond questions, answered

A U.S. visa bond is a refundable financial guarantee of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 that certain B1/B2 visitor visa applicants must post before their visa can be issued. It is required under the U.S. Visa Bond Program and is cancelled once you comply with the terms of your visa — most importantly, leaving the United States on time.

The bond gives the U.S. government a financial guarantee that visitors will depart on time. The program operates under Section 221(g)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and a Temporary Final Rule, and applies to countries with elevated visa overstay rates.

Travelers applying for a B1/B2 visa on a passport from one of the 50 countries currently in the program, when the consular officer finds them otherwise eligible for the visa. The officer tells you at your interview whether a bond is required and sets the amount. The requirement applies regardless of where in the world you apply.

The bond is $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, set by the consular officer at your interview. $10,000 is the standard default amount; officers can lower it to $5,000 or raise it to $15,000 based on your circumstances.

Only B-1 (business) and B-2 (tourism) visitor visas are covered by the Visa Bond Program. Other visa categories are not part of the bond program.

As of April 2026, 50 countries are in the program, including Nigeria, Bangladesh, Venezuela, Mongolia, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Algeria. See the full searchable list with the date each country was added. Note that nationals of some listed countries are also subject to a separate U.S. entry ban and generally cannot receive a B1/B2 visa even with a bond.

Form I-352 is the immigration bond contract between the obligor (the party posting the bond) and the U.S. government. It sets out the bond amount, the conditions the traveler must meet, and what happens if those conditions are breached.

Visa bonds are paid through Pay.gov, the U.S. Treasury's official online payment platform, under the terms of Form I-352. After your interview you receive instructions with a Pay.gov reference for your bond.

30 days from when the consular officer requires the bond at your interview. If the bond is not posted within that window, your visa application is cancelled and you would have to start over.

No. The bond can be posted by an obligor — a party who funds the bond on your behalf via Form I-352. That is exactly what VisaBond does: we act as the obligor so you never have to lock up your own $5,000–$15,000.

VisaBond posts your required visa bond for you. Instead of depositing $5,000–$15,000 of your own money with the U.S. government, you pay us a one-time service fee and we fund and file the bond through Pay.gov and Form I-352, acting as the obligor.

The service fee starts at $999, depending on your bond amount and case. It is a one-time, non-refundable fee — not a deposit — and it is a fraction of the bond amount you would otherwise have to lock up. See pricing.

VisaBond acts as the obligor and funds your full bond on your behalf via Form I-352.

Typically within one business day of approving your application and receiving your details — comfortably inside the 30-day window. Apply early so there is no risk of your visa application being cancelled.

Three things: confirmation that you passed your B1/B2 interview and were required to post a bond, your contact details (name as on your passport, email, phone), and — if you have it — the Pay.gov link or reference you were given. The application takes about two minutes.

No. VisaBond (visa-bond.com) is a private service operated by Elephant Enterprises LLC. We are not the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Treasury, or any government agency, and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by them. We file through the government's official channels — Pay.gov and Form I-352 — on your behalf.

No. We assist only after your visa has been approved and a bond has been required. We do not issue visas, influence visa decisions, or provide legal or immigration advice.

We collect only what is needed to arrange your bond — your name, contact details, and bond reference — and share it only with the government channels required to post it. We do not sell personal information. See our Privacy Policy.

The core conditions: enter and exit the United States through commercial airports only, comply with the terms of your B1/B2 visa, and depart by your authorized date. Meet them and the bond is cancelled automatically.

Commercial air ports of entry reliably record your arrival and departure, which is how the government verifies you left on time and cancels the bond. Bond holders may not enter or exit by land, sea, charter, or general aviation.

The bond is automatically cancelled — nothing further is owed by you, and there is no paperwork for you to file. Departing on time through a commercial airport is all it takes.

The bond is cancelled. If you do not travel to the United States before your visa expires, the bond's conditions are satisfied and it is released.

The bond is cancelled. Being denied admission by U.S. Customs and Border Protection is not a breach of the bond — the bond only guarantees that if you are admitted, you leave on time.

With VisaBond, you never posted the $5,000–$15,000 yourself, so there is nothing of yours held by the government to refund. You paid our one-time service fee, and the bond is cancelled once you comply with its terms. The service fee is non-refundable.

No. Posting the bond satisfies a condition placed on your already-approved visa, but admission is always decided by a Customs and Border Protection officer at the port of entry.

The bond is tied to departing by your authorized date, so any change of plans needs care. If your circumstances change, contact USCIS about your immigration status and contact us about the bond before your authorized stay ends. Remaining beyond your authorized stay without authorization is a breach of the bond.

If you overstay or otherwise breach the bond's terms, the bond is forfeited to the U.S. government. In that case you (and any obligor who funded the bond) are liable to repay the full bond amount — $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 — to VisaBond, plus collection costs. Our service fee covers posting the bond; it does not cover a forfeiture. Overstaying can also carry serious immigration consequences beyond the bond.

The authoritative sources are the U.S. Department of State's visa bond page, the USCIS Form I-352 page, and Pay.gov.