By MATTHEW LEE / AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, a move that may make the process unaffordable for many.

In a notice published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the department said it would start a 12-month pilot program under which people from countries deemed to have high overstay rates and deficient internal document security controls could be required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when they apply for a visa.

The proposal comes as the Trump administration is tightening requirements for visa applicants. Last week, the State Department announced that many visa renewal applicants would have to submit to an additional in-person interview, something that was not required in the past. In addition, the department is proposing that applicants for the Visa Diversity Lottery program have valid passports from their country of citizenship.

In a statement provided to The Nevada Independent late Monday, a representative with the U.S. Travel Association said the organization is more concerned about a $250 visa integrity fee recently enacted by Congress, which would apply across all nonimmigrant visa categories and applicants.

“The scope of the visa bond pilot program appears to be limited, with an estimated 2,000 applicants affected, most likely from only a few countries with relatively low travel volume to the United States,” said Erik Hansen, senior vice president of government relations for the Washington, D.C.-based organization.

However, Hansen said implementation of the visa integrity fee would mean the U.S. “would have one of, if not the highest, visitor visa fees in the world.”

Adding visa fees could add to the shrinkage in international visitation to Las Vegas, which had an estimated 5 million international tourists in 2024.

According to the Clark County Department of Aviation, international visitation through Harry Reid International Airport has declined in each of the past five months, culminating with a nearly 10 percent decline in international travelers in June. The airport has seen 1.4 percent fewer international travelers through June, the department said last week. In 2024, international passenger counts reached more than 3.2 million, nearly returning to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. 

Passenger volume from the three major Canadian air carriers is down double-digits through June.

Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies at the Cato Institute, told CBS News the latest measures from the Trump administration will deter travel to the U.S. from foreign countries.

"Bonds on tourist and business visas will convince most foreigners not to bother coming," he said in a statement. "The result will be a decimated tourist industry. Tourists spend over $200 billion annually in the U.S., spending that counts as exports."

A statement provided by the office of Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), who is a member of the Senate Travel and Tourism Caucus, said “travel bonds will cause significant harm to the already-hurting travel and tourism economy in Nevada and across the country."

Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) also called out the policy in a statement to The Indy, saying that it “will only worsen the downturn in international tourism in Las Vegas” and that “it sends a message to international travelers that they are not welcome here. That means fewer jobs in our hospitality industry and more Nevadans out of work.” 

A preview of the bond notice, which was posted on the Federal Register website on Monday, said the pilot program would take effect within 15 days of its formal publication and is necessary to ensure that the U.S. government is not financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the terms of his or her visa.

"Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department as having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering citizenship by investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement, may be subject to the pilot program," the notice said.

The countries affected will be listed once the program takes effect, it said. The bond could be waived depending on an applicant's individual circumstances.

The bond would not apply to citizens of countries enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program, which enables travel for business or tourism for up to 90 days. The majority of the 42 countries enrolled in the program are in Europe, with others in Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere.

Visa bonds have been proposed in the past but have not been implemented. The State Department has traditionally discouraged the requirement because of the cumbersome process of posting and discharging a bond and because of possible misperceptions by the public.

However, the department said that previous view "is not supported by any recent examples or evidence, as visa bonds have not generally been required in any recent period."