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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 82379, member: 636"] The US just put a massive paywall in front of Ugandan travelers this year. Starting soon, anyone from Uganda applying for a standard visitor visa might need to front a refundable bond as high as fifteen grand. A consular officer decides the exact amount during the interview, either five, ten, or fifteen thousand dollars. This dumps Uganda onto a list of over forty countries, mostly across Africa and elsewhere. The State Department calls it a pilot program targeting visa overstays. They claim the move is backed by immigration law and Homeland Security data. Getting the bond demanded does not mean you get the visa. You first have to be otherwise approved. Only then will they direct you to pay through a specific government website. Sending money without that official order means you lose your cash. The conditions are extremely strict. Approved travelers must fly in and out through only three airports, all on the East Coast. These are Boston, New York JFK, and Washington Dulles. The rule supposedly helps the government track entries and exits better. You get the bond money back if you leave on time or never travel. But overstaying your visa or applying for a status change, like asylum, could make you forfeit the entire amount. That call is up to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. For Ugandans, this is a huge new financial barrier. On top of existing fees and flight costs, this bond represents tens of millions of local shillings. It basically prices out most ordinary tourists and business visitors. Kampala-based travel agents are already predicting a major drop in interest for US trips. First-time visitors will likely be scared off. Ugandan officials were initially radio silent on the new policy. The country now joins several others on the African continent with this requirement, like Nigeria and Zambia. The official start date for Uganda is later this year, aligning them with a broader US crackdown on migration. [/QUOTE]

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