Controversial U.S. Visa Law Raises Concern For Jamaican Nationals

Securing a U.S. visa might put a dent in your wallet.

In its latest effort to tighten immigration controls to the United States, the Trump administration has introduced a visa application bond fee of up to $15,000 for countries with high overstay rates. The State Department announced a 12-month pilot program, which will start on Aug. 20, 2025, sparking alarm among Jamaican nationals hoping to enter the U.S.

The administration cites the 2023 Customs and Border Protection Entry/Exit Overstay Report, published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which lists Jamaica as the Caribbean nation with the second-highest visa overstay rate among visitors to the United States for business or pleasure. However, the report reveals that only 5.25% of Jamaican nationals who entered the United States on B-1 business and B-2 tourism visitor visas did not leave the U.S. on time, which places the Caribbean nation above the 3.2% average for non-Visa waiver countries.

Of the Caribbean countries, Jamaica ranked second to Haiti, which had a reported overstay rate of 31%. Globally, Jamaica sits in 29th place out of 186 non-visa waiver countries.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, countries with the highest visa overstay rates in 2023 included Haiti, Chad—the Central African nation had an overstay rate of nearly 50 percent, followed by Laos, the Republic of Congo, and Sudan.

Wayne Golding, a Jamaican-American immigration attorney, says that the primary focus of the immigration process was once on reuniting families and attracting the “brightest and best,” but it has since shifted.

“It’s all about the pocketbook,” Golding told Television Jamaica.

Currently, Jamaica is excluded from the fee requirement, but officials plan to update the list throughout the pilot program. So far, there are only two countries on the list — Malawi and Zambia. Travelers who need to pay a visa fee can only enter and leave the U.S. through Boston Logan International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, or Washington Dulles International Airport.