If you were living under a rock the last few days, then you may not have heard that the U.S. State Department just announced a pilot program that will require citizens of Malawi and Zambia to pay a refundable visa bond of up to $15,000 for certain business and tourist visas. Yes that’s right, 15 stinking grand, for a visa bond! Wow.

The policy, which will starts on August 20, 2025, requires travelers to deposit a significant sum of money—$5,000, $10,000, or $15,000—that they will only get back if they leave the U.S. on time.

And while the US government says this is to stop people from overstaying their visas, the decision to target Zambia and Malawi, which happen to have lower overstay rates than many other countries, has raised more than a few eyebrows.

If you think of all the nonsensical policies and executive orders which Donald Trump has announced or signed thus far, this one tops the chart. And in my considered view it’s little more than a form of political arm-twisting of less powerful countries. And below I’ll explain why.

The Visa Bond: A financial wall

So, in practical terms how many people in Malawi would you say will afford this? Or rather, how many people with Malawian passports will afford this? Because for a country whose average annual income is about $600, a $15,000 bond is 25 times their yearly earnings. Too few people have that kind of money lying around in Malawi. And those that do, only a tiny percentage of them will spend it on Trump’s visa bond. They have brains, you see, being from a poor country doesn’t mean you’re an idiot. So, many people will see this for what it is.

For a Zambian, whose average income is around $1,400, the visa bond is more than 10 times their income. So no surprises that critics have called this a “legalised shakedown,” arguing it’s basically profiteering from lawful travelers while doing little to fix the larger issue of visa overstays.

This policy, like it or hate it, effectively prices out all but the wealthiest citizens, making travel to the U.S. a distant dream for many families. It’s elitist, and it’s precisely a display of the kind of hegemony some of us have been warning against for years, when powerful countries are allowed to amass so much influence…they begin to bully others for no real reason.

Remember how the US once tried to force South Africa to buy US chickens, even when South Africa had enough capacity for chicken production?

This is a bit like that.

The U.S. government’s justification for the policy-high overstay rates and poor vetting processes -also doesn’t hold up. Far from it. Because according to 2023 Department of Homeland Security data, Malawi’s overstay rate was 14.3% and Zambia’s a meagre 11.1%. Meanwhile, countries like Chad sat at 49%, Laos (34%), and the Republic of Congo (29%), which as you can see are much higher overstay rates. But surprise surprise they’re not included in the program.

This selective approach makes the policy look more like a punishment than a fair solution. So the question becomes what has Malawi and Zambia done (or not done) to upset the rather thin-skinned Mr Trump and his minions of yes men?

A pattern of pettiness

For those who may have forgotten, be reminded that this new visa bond program isn’t a one-off policy; it’s a revival of a 2020 initiative that was halted after President Biden’s election. The previous version of the policy targeted 24 countries, most of which were in Africa.

So then, by restarting the program with Malawi and Zambia, the Trump administration seems to be continuing a strategy of targeting countries that lack the economic or political power to push back, or react in ways that will hurt the US.

It’s low level arm-twisting, something you’d expect from a mid-level mafioso fingerling, who has to foment hatred with a view to gaining “street cred”. It’s silly and completely unnecessary…

Unfortunately, it appears that that is the world in which we now live in, where some rich countries can make decrees willy nilly, against those who don’t have the power to fight back. And if you look around the world this very moment, you’ll find plenty of examples of that type of behaviour.

An X user captured this sentiment perfectly, calling the policy a “discriminatory cash grab that’ll cripple tourism and business while doing little to stop overstays—just another Trump-era policy targeting vulnerable nations.”

The administration’s claim that this program is a “tool of diplomacy” to encourage better vetting by foreign governments is equally hard to believe when applied to nations like Malawi and Zambia, which lack the resources to overhaul their systems overnight. If anything, it’s a calculated move that prioritises geopolitical convenience over fairness.

But back to the question, why Malawi & Zambia

The decision to single out Malawi and Zambia, while ignoring countries with higher overstay rates and a larger number of overstays, suggests a political motive. For example, while Malawi and Zambia had 237 and 388 overstays respectively, larger nations like Brazil had 20,811 overstays and Colombia had 40,884. Yet, these more influential nations are not part of the pilot program?!

No wonder then that some people think this selective targeting fits into a broader pattern in that a June 2025 travel ban, for instance, affected 12 countries, most of which were African and Middle Eastern states. Many of these countries also have high overstay rates, but only Malawi and Zambia now face the visa bond requirement.

So, objectively, the lack of transparent, data-driven reasons for this decision can only mean it’s probably based on political posturing than a genuine desire to want to fix the overstay issue.

In other words, when you can’t kick the Russias, and the Chinas of this world in the testicles- where it hurts, or when you can’t contend with the Brazils and Colombias of this world, the easiest targets will be the Malaiwis and Zambias of this world. At least that will show the MAGA base that you’re doing something, even when such actions merely serves to placate those who can’t discern BS.

It’s playground jostling you’d expect from 9 year old boys, than from a whole 79 year old US President.

No more fairness

From an African perspective, this policy is not only unfair but also hopeless and pathetic. It harms ordinary citizens who would have wanted to travel for business, tourism, or to see family members.

It also sends a message that African nations are easy targets for punitive measures, even when the measures themselves are largely nonsensical and without basis. It’s pretty much in the same category as what happened a few months ago when Trump and Elon Musk were claiming that white South Africans, particularly Afrikaners, were facing racial discrimination and persecution in South Africa, and offered to help. No one sensible believed a word of it.

Instead of imposing huge financial burdens, a more effective and respectful approach would have been to work with these countries to improve their vetting processes and address the root causes of overstays, such as economic instability.

But again, looking at everything the Trump administration have tried to do (from DOGE cuts to ICE rounding up university students, and people with green cards – because they hold different opinions) it’s not entirely surprising. The fascist tendencies are clear for all to see.

Unfortunately, the U.S. government under Trump won’t be more transparent, and will come up with such policies that violate civil liberties and disproportionately affect minorities.

So African countries need to prepare for more of this kind of ‘cowboy diplomacy’. Because that’s the world in which we now live in.

The goal was never to reduce overstays, because if that had been the goal, the program would have targeted countries with the highest rates and largest number of overstays. The new policy seems more focused on making a political statement to a domestic audience (MAGA) than on solving a real problem. It’s a distraction that exploits the economic vulnerabilities of smaller nations for political gain. Especially now that some vocal voices in the MAGA camp won’t let go of the Jeffrey Epstein debacle.

So, fellow Malawians, and our Zambian brethren across the border, please don’t be offended. This issue isn’t really about us. It’s about them. Akukang’athana okha okha, nde ife tangogwelamo, we’ve just been pulled in mu ndewu ya eni ache.(Tip your local Malawian translator a $20 for that bit please…)

Nde apapa let’s just happily mind our own business and work on developing dziko lathu. And when we party, let’s drink our thobwas and sing thungululus at our weddings and celebrations mwa ntendere . This visa bond is not personal. And Mr Trump won’t be President forever.