US adds visa bonds up to $27,000 for Pacific nations

Travel and Tourism

Five Pacific nations are among 50 countries in a US visa bond program.

Clients used to never cry in Alisi Mo'ungaloa Afu's office, but now they often do.

"Some people have cried because they could not travel to funerals," she said.

Mrs Mo'ungaloa Afu is a travel agent in Tonga who has spent 15 years helping locals with US visa applications.

Many Tongans have family in the US and travel there for weddings, funerals, or to see loved ones.

Alisi Mo'ungaloa Afu is a travel agent who works on US visa applications.

Mrs Mo'ungaloa Afu helps clients fill forms, pay fees, and arrange interviews with a consulate officer.

For Tongans, it is an expensive process.

The US embassy in Tonga does not offer visa services, so applicants usually travel to Fiji for their interview, adding travel costs and time away from work.

An interview does not guarantee a visa, and the US$185 (US$260) fee is not refundable.

Tongan applicants usually need to travel to Suva in Fiji for their US visa interview.

At the start of this year, a pilot US Visa Bond Program began, requiring applicants from Tonga and 37 other countries to pay a bond of US$5,000 to US$15,000 before a visa could be issued.

The program aims to reduce "overstays" and applies to non‑immigrant B1 and B2 visas, the main visas for business and tourism travel in Tonga.

The bond amount depended on the applicant's personal situation and is refundable if the traveler follows all visa rules.

Now the bond is higher, ranging from US$10,000 to US$20,000 after the pilot became permanent on August 3.

Passport holders from 50 countries, including Tonga, Fiji, Tuvalu and Papua New Guinea, are covered by the program.

Tongans often fly to the US to visit friends and family in the Tongan diaspora community.

The rules also apply to nationals of those countries who live in Australia.

This means Tongans or Fijians who are permanent residents of Australia could still face the bond if they apply for a US visa with their Pacific Island passport.

The US State Department says the requirement applies "regardless of place of application".

US$20k is about what someone earns in a year.

Tonga's prime minister, Lord Fakafanua, said making the program permanent was very disappointing and he will seek diplomatic solutions to ease the restrictions.

"It hits us hard because many of our people live in places like California, Hawaii and Utah, and we are working to fix it," he said.

Lord Fakafanua said he would look for diplomatic ways to ease travel restrictions on Tonga.

About 78,000 people are part of the Tongan diaspora in the US, according to the latest US census.

Mrs Mo'ungaloa Afu's mother, siblings and the friends and relatives of the 500‑600 clients she helps each year are included in that number.

She said business fell sharply after the pilot bond program started in January because many clients could not afford the fee, travel cost, and bond.

She said none of her clients have traveled to the US since then.

Alisi Mo'ungaloa Afu said many Tongans cannot afford the bond. (ABC News: Nick Sas)

"We have seen a big drop in people wanting to apply for a US visa because of the cost alone," she said.

Mrs Mo'ungaloa Afu said even the minimum bond of US$10,000 is out of reach for many Tongans, especially those living inside the Kingdom.

Before the program, Mrs Mo'ungaloa Afu said she usually traveled to the US once a year to see her siblings and aging mother.

She paid thousands in airfare for her family of six to travel to the US around Christmas last year.

She said a bond would make future trips almost impossible.

"Right now, the priority is just to get a visa in case something happens, like a funeral," she said.

"That is the main reason I want to travel."

Curbing overstay

Jope Tarai said only very rich Fijians could afford a visa bond to holiday in the US.

Fijian analyst Jope Tarai said the program shows anti‑immigration feelings that could make other places more attractive to Pacific Islanders.

"One place for Fijian passport holders is China," he said.

"It is visa‑free, so this will have big effects between two big powers in the region, especially in soft power terms."

Jope Tarai. (ABC News)

The US State Department said the Visa Bond Program greatly improved overstay trends, with 98% of the 5,000 travelers who got visas with bonds returning on time during the 12‑month pilot.

Official figures show Tonga's B‑1 and B‑2 overstay rate at 6.45%, and about 14% of Tongan students overstay their visas.

Like Tonga, Fiji has a large US diaspora of about 54,000 people, but a lower overstay rate of 3.95% according to official data.

ICE agents in the US have been targeting visa overstayers in cities across the country.

Vanuatu and Tuvalu have much smaller US diaspora communities than Tonga and Fiji.

Henrietta McNeill‑Stowers, a research fellow at ANU's Department of Pacific Affairs, said Tuvalu's high overstay rate (11.63%) may explain why it is in the Visa Bond Program.

However, other factors may have led to PNG and Vanuatu citizens being subject to the bond.

"For Vanuatu, some issues are about identity verification and travel document security," she said.

"Their citizenship‑by‑investment scheme is something the US is watching closely."

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