Travelers from Bhutan, Botswana, and five other countries must now pay up to $15,000 to apply for a U.S. visa. The policy targets overstay risks and now affects 13 nations, most of them in Africa. New Entry Requirements Raise the Financial Barrier for Travelers Starting January 1,

Another key date is February 27, 2026. USCIS says a final rule will change how cap-subject H-1B visas are awarded, replacing the random selection method with a model that gives greater weight to higher-skill, higher-wage roles. The agency says the rule will be in place for the FY 2027 H-1B registration season and takes effect on February 27, 2026.

The United States has introduced new travel restrictions that will require Nigerians applying for B1/B2 (business and tourism) visas to post a

Individuals from seven countries will not be able to travel to the United States starting Thursday, according to updated CBP guidance.

The visa bond pilot program mandates that otherwise eligible applicants for business or tourism visas from select countries, now including Turkmenistan, will have to post a bond of up to $15,000 in order to enter the United States.

The West African nation of Niger announced on Dec. 26, that it would “completely and permanently” stop issuing visas to U.S. citizens and ban U.S. nationals from entering into the country “indefinitely,” according to The Street. Other West African nations followed suit, including Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali.

New visa travel restrictions and immigration enforcement protocols—introducing advanced identification measures and stricter residency checks for green-card holders—issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are now in effect, as of December 26, 2025.

New travel and immigration rules for Green Card holders came into force in the United States on December 26, 2025. Issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

Brazil recently reinstated the electronic visa requirement for citizens of the United States (and Australia and Canada), effective April 10, 2025, while South Korea, on the contrary, waived its K-ETA requirement for U.S. citizens until December 31, 2026.