On April 22, 2019, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum on “Combating High Nonimmigrant Overstay Rates.” Many of the measures mentioned in the memo are not law yet.

Among other things, the memo states:

  • Visa overstay rates are “unacceptably high for nationals of certain countries.”
  • The Secretary of State will “engage with the governments of countries with a total overstay rate greater than 10 percent in the combined B-1 and B-2…visa category,” with a goal of identifying conditions that contribute to “those overstay rates and methods to address those conditions.”
  • Recommended measures to combat visa overstay include:
    • “Suspending or limiting entry of nationals of those countries who hold B-1 or B-2 visas;”
    • Imposing “targeted suspension of visa issuance for certain nationals; limits to duration of admission;” and
    • Enforcing “additional documentary requirements.”
  • Measures may be developed for imposing “admission bonds” to improve compliance with the terms/conditions of visas.

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