If the visa is granted and the traveler complies with its terms—most importantly, leaving the US on time—the bond is refunded after the trip. If they don’t, they risk forfeiting it.
Which countries are affected?
What began as a limited pilot program of two countries, Malawi and Zambia, in August 2025 has steadily expanded. The State Department now applies the policy to 50 countries, including 30 African nations, 9 Asian countries, 5 from North America (including the Caribbean and Central America), 5 from Oceania, and 1 from South America.
The most recently added nations, as of April 2, include Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, and Seychelles.
Several countries with national teams participating in the World Cup—including Algeria, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Tunisia—initially fell under the program. However, under the newly announced exemption, eligible fans from those five countries who have secured official World Cup tickets and registered through the expedited visa system will no longer need to post the bond.
It remains unclear whether any other groups will be exempt from the visa bond requirement. While previous travel bans under the Trump administration included carve-outs for athletes and officials participating in major international events like the World Cup, no other exemptions are explicitly outlined in the current visa bond program.
Why this matters for sports tourism in the US
Even with the exemption now in place for some fans, the controversy highlights the complicated intersection of immigration policy and global sporting events.
For months, the possibility of a $15,000 visa bond threatened to become one of the single biggest financial barriers facing fans from some participating nations. And unlike airfare or hotels, it wasn’t a cost travelers could strategically shop around to reduce.
“For countries like Cape Verde, with a relatively small population, the requirement could [have] disproportionately limited fan turnout despite historic first participation in the tournament,” immigration lawyer Jimmy Lai, of Lai & Turner Law Firm, told Condé Nast Traveler before the exemption was put in place.
