Hot air balloon crash in Mexico injures at least twelve people
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
%3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%2FTAL-us-visa-passport-USBONDVISA0825-3455f61a288c4cf1be34ff4905c9ce44.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Travel + Leisure
3 hours ago
- Travel + Leisure
The U.S. Is Proposing a Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Travelers—What to Know
Potential travelers to the U.S. need to be aware of a new proposed travel visa scheme that might require them to put up $15,000. The U.S. Department of State recently announced a proposed 12-month long visa bond pilot program that could apply to leisure and business travelers who are applying for visas from countries that have high visa overstay rates, according to the State Department. The program would require travelers seeking visas to potentially post a bond of $5000 to $15,000, as well as to travel to specific US airports as their port of entry, which will be announced at a later date. Countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program, including Canada and Mexico, will be exempt for the bond pilot program. A similar program was set to be implemented in November 2020 during the first Trump administration, but was never fully implemented due to the slowdown in travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'By its design and intention, the Pilot Program is a tool of diplomacy, intended to encourage foreign governments to take immediate action to reduce the overstay rates of their nationals when traveling to the United States for temporary visits, and to encourage countries to improve screening and vetting and the security of travel and civil documents, including in the granting of citizenship,' the State Department statement says. 'As such, the rule properly is described as 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 and deficient screening and vetting.' If travelers are required to post a bond, the funds will be returned if they leave the U.S. as required by the terms of their visas. At the moment, it is unclear which countries will be affected by the pilot program, though some countries with high rates of overstays are also on the list of countries affected by Trump's travel ban. 'The Department, through consular officers, has broad authority to require a visa applicant to post a bond in such sum and with such conditions as would help ensure the alien's timely departure from the United States,' the Department of State said in a statement. 'During the course of the visa interview, a consular officer will determine if an applicant is otherwise eligible for a visa, and if the applicant falls within the scope of the Pilot Program. If the applicant falls within the scope of the Pilot Program, the consular officer will inform the applicant of the bond requirement and the amount of the required bond, whether $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000.'
Skift
21 hours ago
- Skift
Wyndham Hits Significant Growth Milestone
The DJIA roared back from the declines late last week, up 585 points while the Nasdaq was up 403, the S&P 500 rose 92 points, and the 10-year treasury yield was down .02 to 4.2%. Lodging stocks were higher. BHR was the only mover of note, gaining back 5%. Guerrero, Mexico's tourist destinations registered an average hotel occupancy rate of 78.2% this Sunday, according to figures from the state Ministry of Tourism. The summer season has been one of the most active for the state, with thousands of national and international visitors who have chosen places such as Acapulco, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, and Taxco. In Acapulco, hotel occupancy stood at 76.5%, with the Golden Zone leading with 79.1%, followed by the Diamond Zone with 75.2% and the Traditional Zone with 70%. Other destinations also reported outstanding figures: Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo reached 85.1% occupancy, Taxco de Alarconn
Fast Company
a day ago
- Fast Company
Some tourists and businesses could face a $15,000 bond to get U.S. visas
The U.S. could require bonds of up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot program launching in two weeks, a government notice said on Monday, an effort that aims to crack down on visitors who overstay their visas. The program gives U.S. consular officers the discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high rates of visa overstays, according to a Federal Register notice. Bonds could also be applied to people coming from countries where screening and vetting information is deemed insufficient, the notice said. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a focus of his presidency, boosting resources to secure the border and arresting people in the U.S. illegally. He issued a travel ban in June that fully or partially blocks citizens of 19 nations from entering the U.S. on national security grounds. Trump's immigration policies have led some visitors to skip travel to the United States. Transatlantic airfares dropped to rates last seen before the COVID-19 pandemic in May and travel from Canada and Mexico to the U.S. fell by 20% year-over-year. Effective August 20, the new visa program will last for approximately a year, the government notice said. Consular officers will have three options for visa applicants subjected to the bonds: $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000, but will generally be expected to require at least $10,000, it said. A similar pilot program was launched in November 2020 during the last months of Trump's first term in office, but it was not fully implemented due to the drop in global travel associated with the pandemic, the notice said. The State Department was unable to estimate the number of visa applicants who could be affected by the change. Many of the countries targeted by Trump's travel ban also have high rates of visa overstays, including Chad, Eritrea, Haiti, Myanmar and Yemen. Numerous countries in Africa, including Burundi, Djibouti and Togo also had high overstay rates, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data from fiscal year 2023.
