Tourists and business travelers from Zambia and Malawi must pay a deposit of up to $15,000 when seeking a US visa, the State Department has announced, in a move likened to a visa ban for the African nations,

Two African countries appear to have been singled out by the latest immigration policy of the Trump administration. Visitors to the United States from Malawi and Zambia will be required to pay $15,000 to enter the country.

Zambia's government voiced concern on Friday about the "unnecessary financial strain" that would be caused by a new rule requiring its citizens to pay bonds of up to $15,000 to obtain some types of U.

STORY: Outside Malawi’s immigration headquarters in Blantyre, people are bemoaning a new U.S. visa scheme which will require bonds of up to $15,000 to enter the country. “This move has shattered plans that most Malawians had to travel.

Zambia on Friday expressed "serious concern" at a new United States (US) measure requiring its nationals to post a bond of up to US$15,000 to travel to the country on business or tourist visas.

President Donald Trump's administration will require visa applicants from Zambia and Malawi to pay bonds up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot program launching in two weeks,

Critics have denounced the bond scheme as a ‘legalised shakedown’ that profits from vulnerable, lawful travellers.

The United States (US) says, beginning August 20, Malawi and Zambia are to be the first countries where a pilot programme requiring certain visa applicants to pay up to US$15,000 bonds to enter the country will be applied.