US adds seven more countries to those needing to post bonds for visa applications

The Trump administration has added seven countries, including five in Africa, to the list of nations whose passport holders are required to post bonds of up to US$15,000 to apply to enter the United States.

Thirteen countries, all but two of them in Africa, are now on the list, which makes the process of obtaining a US visa unaffordable for many.

The State Department last week quietly added Bhutan, Botswana, Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan to the list.

Those designations took effect on January 1, according to a notice posted on the www.travel.state.gov website.

It's the latest effort by the Trump administration to tighten requirements for entry to the US, including requiring citizens from all countries that require visas to sit for in-person interviews and disclose years of social media histories as well as detailed accounts of their and their families' previous travel and living arrangements.