WASHINGTON, Aug 6, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The State Department said Tuesday that Malawians and Zambians will be required to pay a bond of up to $15,000 to travel to the United States on business or tourist visas.

The decision takes effect August 20 as part of a one-year pilot project aimed at reducing visa overstays in the United States, where the Trump administration is cracking down on immigration.

The bond will be returned if the applicant complies with all visa terms. If the applicant remains in the United States past the deadline, the funds will be forfeited.

"This targeted, common sense measure reinforces the administration's commitment to US immigration law while deterring visa overstays," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters Tuesday.

Washington announced the measure on Monday but did not identify the impacted countries at first.

Malawi and Zambia are poor and landlocked nations in southern Africa with only a handful of their citizens visiting the United States each year.

US officials have said the pilot project is "a key pillar of the Trump Administration's foreign policy to protect the United States from the clear national security threat posed by visa overstays."

In recent months, US President Donald Trump has implemented stricter visa requirements for many countries, particularly in Africa, amid his broad anti-immigration drive.