United States: State Department Launches Immigrant Visa Public Charge Bond Pilot Program

On August 5, the U.S. Department of State announced the implementation of a pilot program that permits U.S. consular officers to require certain immigrant visa applicants to apply for a “public charge” bond with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in order to overcome a consular officer’s finding that the applicant is ineligible for an immigrant visa because they are likely to become financially dependent on the government.

The amount of the bond will be set by the consular officer and will be determined based on an assessment of the totality of the circumstances in each case. The State Department’s announcement does not specify any standard amount or dollar range for the bond.

The consular officer will determine whether a particular immigrant visa applicant will be required to post a public charge bond. The immigrant visa applicant may not initiate the process of posting a bond on their own accord.

Current USCIS procedures allow a foreign national to meet a public charge bond requirement either through paying a cash bond for the full bond amount, or by posting a surety bond through a government-certified surety company.

If, after immigrating to the United States, the foreign national receives public benefits in the form of either cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization at government expense, the bond will be deemed breached, and any cash bond amount would be forfeited and any surety bond would become due.

Under existing USCIS procedures, a public charge bond can be canceled, and any cash bond refunded, once the foreign national has held lawful permanent residence (green card) status for at least five years, of if the individual becomes a U.S. citizen, or dies, or ceases to hold lawful permanent residence status and permanently departs the United States, provided the individual did not become a public charge before that time.

This pilot public charge bond program comes in the wake of the State Department’s January 2026 announcement that it is suspending immigrant visa issuance in 75 countries until the agency reassesses procedures for determining whether applicants are likely to become a public charge.

Fragomen is monitoring the implementation of this new pilot immigrant visa public charge bond program and will provide updates as warranted.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.