Antigua, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada face permanent US visa bond rule

The final rule, published in the Federal Register as Document 2026-15726, codifies the bond requirement permanently into 22 CFR 41.

• The four Caribbean countries included in the programme are Antigua and Barbuda (added January 21, 2026), Cuba (January 21, 2026), Dominica (January 21, 2026), and Grenada (April 2, 2026).
• Bonds are set at one of three tiers — US$10,000, US$15,000, or US$20,000 — with US$15,000 as the default; the US$5,000 minimum available during the pilot has been removed under the permanent rule.
• The bond is refundable only upon compliance: the traveller must depart the U.S. on time and respect all visa conditions; full forfeiture occurs if the holder overstays or substantially breaches the bond terms.
• According to the final rule's pilot data, approximately 20,000 applications required a bond during the trial period, B-1/B-2 issuance in pilot countries dropped 83% in the first 10 months, and fewer than 50 overstays were recorded from the 50 pilot countries — against a Fiscal Year 2024 baseline of 45,488.
• The requirement applies only to new B-1/B-2 visitor visa applications; existing valid U.S. visitor visas are not affected, and a bond is only imposed if a consular officer determines one is necessary.
• Filing for asylum or related humanitarian protection on Form I-589 while in the U.S. on a bonded visa constitutes a bond-breach event, triggering full forfeiture.

Caribbean families, students, and business travellers from the four listed nations now face an upfront financial barrier that could run to US$20,000 — funds that must be placed on deposit before a visa is even granted, with no guarantee of approval. 

Antiguans and Barbudans face the added logistical burden of travelling to the US Embassy in Barbados, as Antigua hosts no non-immigrant visa-processing consulate, compounding both cost and delay. Visitor visas for Antiguan and Barbudan nationals have also been reduced from 10-year multiple-entry documents to three-month, single-entry visas under associated restrictions. 

The Antigua government has warned the measures are already hurting trade, commerce, and regional air connectivity. 

Separately, a new pilot targeting immigrant visa applicants from the Dominican Republic with bonds of US$100,000 to US$250,000 could eventually expand to all 50 bond-programme countries, raising the stakes further for the wider region.

What to watch: • The U.S. State Department's response to Antigua and Barbuda's formal diplomatic note to Secretary Marco Rubio requesting an early review of the country's inclusion. • Whether any of the four Caribbean nations — particularly Antigua and Barbuda, which has highlighted expanded biometric cooperation with DHS — are removed from the programme list; removals take immediate effect once announced. • The potential expansion of the US$100,000–US$250,000 immigrant visa bond pilot to the broader list of 50 programme countries.

Antigua and Barbuda argues it has responded constructively to every U.S. concern and deserves early review, suggesting the restrictions may paradoxically reduce brain drain of skilled nationals to the U.S.

California-based advocacy groups contend the policy amounts to wealth-based discrimination against the Global South, raising concerns under the Administrative Procedure Act and demanding transparency, accountability, and congressional oversight — including a GAO review.

Washington maintains the pilot provided sufficient justification for permanence, positioning the bond as a diplomatic tool to incentivize partner governments toward stronger information sharing, identity verification, and document security — with DHS citing US$18,000 per-person deportation costs in the cost-benefit analysis.

"Our Government has consistently responded in good faith to concerns raised by the United States and has taken practical measures to address them. We believe it is now appropriate for those actions to be recognised through an early review of the restrictions."

— Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, via Antigua and Barbuda Embassy statement, Washington D.C.