JULY 28, 2026
Contact: media@haitianbridge.org,  Paige Censale, pcensale@haitianbridge.org

SAN DIEGO, CA— Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) strongly condemns the expansion of the U.S. Visa Bond Program , which requires certain B-1/B-2 visa applicants to post financial bonds ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 as a condition of entry. While presented as a visa compliance measure, HBA warns that the policy creates a wealth-based barrier to lawful travel and raises serious concerns regarding fairness, transparency, and discrimination. By conditioning mobility on the ability to produce thousands of dollars upfront, the policy disproportionately impacts individuals from countries facing economic hardship and humanitarian challenges.

“This policy is discriminatory in both its design and its practical impact,” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “Access to lawful travel should not depend on whether an individual can afford a substantial financial bond. This creates a system where mobility is determined by wealth rather than eligibility.”

The financial burden of this policy is especially concerning given economic realities in the United States. Millions of Americans lack sufficient savings to cover unexpected expenses as low as $500.00USD, and a similar requirement imposed on U.S. travelers abroad would place international travel out of reach for many. A policy that would be viewed as exclusionary if applied to Americans should not become acceptable when imposed on travelers from Africa, the Caribbean, and other regions of the Global South.

Although the Department of State has not issued a final list of countries subject to the expanded program, the initial Visa Bond Pilot Program provides insight into its potential impact. The countries included in the pilot program were concentrated in Africa and other regions with predominantly Black and brown populations, raising serious concerns about disparate impact and the use of nationality-based classifications in immigration policy. Those lists have grown to include approximately 50 countries, with a significant concentration in Africa, as well as nations in Latin America, the Caribbean, and parts of Asia. Countries added in recent updates include, among others, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mozambique, and several other African and Global South nations, alongside select countries in Latin America and Asia. The geographic pattern is clear: the policy overwhelmingly impacts countries with majority Black and brown populations.

“This policy cannot be separated from its impact,” Jozef stated. “When a policy disproportionately burdens communities of color around the world, it demands greater transparency, accountability, and review.”

HBA further warns that the Visa Bond Program raises significant concerns under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), including whether the government has provided adequate justification, established transparent selection criteria, or considered less restrictive alternatives.

Haitian Bridge Alliance calls on the Department of State and Congress to:

• State Department must suspend implementation of the Visa Bond Program pending further review;
• State Department must provide transparent criteria for country selection and application;
• State Department must assess the policy’s disparate impacts on affected communities;
• State Department Ensure visa policies uphold fairness, due process, and equal treatment;
• Congress must exercise its oversight authority by organizing a hearing on this matter;
• Congress must restrict funding through appropriations for the execution of this program;
• Congress must introduce legislation that would limit the Secretary of State’s authority to impose nationality based financial burdens;
• Congress should direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an independent review of the Visa Bond Program’s effectiveness, legality, and disparate impact.

As Haiti continues to face profound humanitarian and security challenges, HBA emphasizes that additional financial barriers to lawful travel will disproportionately affect Haitian families, businesses, and communities.

ABOUT HAITIAN BRIDGE ALLIANCE

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), also known as “The Bridge”, is a grassroots community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies, foreign policy, and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. HBA also seeks to elevate the issues unique to Black migrants and builds solidarity and collective movement toward policy change. Anpil men chay pa lou (“Many hands make the load light”). Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @haitianbridge