It is a bond, that is returned upon exit. The reality is that it will end up costing far more $ to administer than anyone expects.

Yeah, I don't believe anything Trump says

This isn't Trump BS this is an actual rule being published by the State Department. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Guess what, I don't believe anything this administration says.

OK. I have doubts about the execution.

I wouldn’t risk it. Once you’re in, he’ll announce another scam to just keep the $.

It is easier as a US business to get the $ back from the USG than some foreign individual. The idea is that the business takes the risk not the traveller.

It’ll be kid rock and bobo wearing dumbass flag costumes at the airport, grabbing 15,000$ off people and then yelling haha mother fucker you’ll never see that money again as you walk outside for a cab

The U.S. State Department is supervised by a Trump Minion. It's 100% Trump b.s. and nobody outside the United States should come here. It's not safe.

BS in terms of the policy is BS not that they are not planning to implement the bond. We are learning about the different expressions of BS with this administration.

temporary final rule? Until another temporary rule is made

So it’s only for people who get VISAs?

Yes. The idea is that if you are from Zambia you have to put up a $5000-15000 bond to secure the visa. This would be like 4 years of income to get an upper class family of 4 B1 visas. That would be like $1 million for a similarly situated American family.

Except he never pays his bills or tabs. No one is getting that money back.

You miss the idea. A business for someone else. Like a bail bond business but putting up $ for a visa. The person never has to produce the $15k and the business can charge a small fee for the bond. There is very little risk that a person will actually overstay a business or tourist visa.

But it would be a lousy idea for a business. 1) Who wants to visit the US? 2) You lose the money when your customer is sent to Alligator Alcatraz.

The US issued 4.1 million B visitor visas. If the number of visitors get cut in half that is still 2 million visas. The risk of someone overstaying a visa is small. Build the risk into the fee and just let the $ go if someone overstays.

Exactly. “Thanks for the $15k. Admin charges were $3k. Here’s your $5k back. If you complain we’ll arrest you and take the rest too.”

No. As a business. I put up the $15k and charge you $50. It only cost you $50 for the visa and all I have to do is put up $. This is the same business model as bail bonds but with far less risk.

So there’s no possibility of the visitor having to pay some or all of the $15k? Either way, it’s certainly a novel way to dissuade tourists.

OK. No, my service would be the visitor pays me a fee and I put up the bond. This would be a service people would pay for. I paid $120 for global entry and that was just to get into a shorter line at the border crossing.

The idea is fine, but it only works if the government plays fair. I don't have any confidence that they'll do that.

It's a logistical nightmare, and a disincentive to visit the country at the very least. And I agree -- you cannot take the risk that our gov't will abide by its own rules.

So when do you get your $15k back?

Whenever the USG releases the bond. The point of the service is for the business to deal with the hassle of putting up the bond and getting the $ back from the USG. The customer just pays the fee then is done with dealing with the US.

$50 seems like a very low fee for both the admin involved and the loan of $15k for an indeterminate period.

So you are expecting an accurate estimate for a fee based on an idea for a business?

You gave a figure. You didn’t have to.

Bet there's trouble getting it back. Delays, system down, blah..

And thousands of travelers will start complaining that they never got the money back, and other countries will start initiating a reciprocal entry fee on American citizens.

"...that is "returned" upon exit. *wink wink* 😉 Of course this too will be dependent on whether or not the traveller is actually free to voluntarily exit the country.