UPDATE: U.S FINALIZES $20,000 VISA BOND POLICY AFFECTING NIGERIA AND 49 OTHER NATIONS. (PHOTO).
U.S Finalizes $20,000 Visa Bond Policy Affecting Nigeria and 49 Other Nations The United States government has officially formalized its visa bond policy, making it a permanent measure that could require travelers from 50 designated countries, including Nigeria, to pay a refundable bond of up to $20,000 before receiving certain visas. First introduced as a pilot scheme in 2025, the policy targets applicants seeking B1 and B2 visas, which are designated for business and tourism. According to the U.S. Department of State, the initiative is designed to bolster compliance with local immigration laws and drastically reduce visa overstay rates. How the Visa Bond Policy Works Under the permanent guidelines, U.S. consular officers have the discretion to instruct eligible applicants to post a bond as a prerequisite for visa issuance. However, U.S. authorities have clarified that the financial requirement will not be applied automatically to every traveler from the listed nations. Data anal...
According to Vanguard,European Union {EU} offcial Fillippo Amato has advised the Federal Government to devalue the Naira as part of measures to tackle the economic recession.Amato,Councellor,Head of Trade and Economic Section of EU,made this known in an interview with newsmen today Monday The EU official said that recession could not be addressed with traditional development tools.He said the recession was a recent development which was due to a number of factors,including the fall in oil prices and resurgence of militncy in the Niger Delta.''To come out of recession,the country has to take brave decisions,regardless of how unpopular they may be such as fully and effectively devaluing the Naira.Devaluing the Naira is a measure,which will finally reassure investors and attract new capitals to the country.At the same time,it will further reduce imports,thereby removing artificial forex restrictions,and removing any potential waste of scarce resources such as the fuel subsidy.Improving security {in the Northeast and Niger-delta} and ease of doing business are also key factors on which the government must urgently work to re-launch the economy,'' he said.Amato said that EU had been at the forefront of aid for trade support activities in Nigeria and ECOWAS.He said the most important programme the EU was implementing in Nigeria with its partners-GIZ,DFID/Adam Smith International and UNIDO-was the Nigeria competitiveness Support Programme.''The programme aims at improving the quality of Nigeria products to comply with international standards.The programme is providing capacity building to several Ministries,Departments and Agencies such as Ministry of Agriculture,Standards Organisation of Nigeria,Consumer Protection Council,Nigerian Customs Services and NADFAC.We support the trade institutions in the formulation and implementation of a sound trade policy {support to the Federal Minister of Industry,Trade & Investment,and Nigerian Customs Service}.This is to improve the business environment,with pilot projects in Kano and Kaduna to improve the procedures for obtaining land titles,and business licences,'' he said.
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