61.2 Posting, Cancellation and Breaching of Maintenance of Status Bonds.

(a) Authority .

Section 214(a)(1) of the Act states that for the admission to the United States of any alien as a nonimmigrant shall be for such time and under such conditions as may be prescribed including, when necessary, the posting of a bond to insure that such alien will depart from the United States in a timely manner without otherwise violating his ro her status. This section authorizes CBP and USCIS to require a maintenance of status and departure bond with regard to either an application for admission to the Unit ed States or an application for change of nonimmigrant status. While the statute is silent about the posting of a bond in connection with an application for extension of stay, regulations at 8 CFR 214.1(a)(3) authorize the posting of a bond for this purpose, in addition to applications for admission and applications for change of status. [See also 8 CFR 221 .]

(b) Policy .

It is important to remember that the posting of a bond cannot serve to make an alien who is inadmissible to the United States admissible; nor can it make an alien who is ineligible for a change of status eligible. A bond only serves to enhance an alien’s ability to meet his or her burden of proof regarding his or her intention to maintain nonimmigrant status and depart as required by the terms of his or her admission (or change of status). On the other hand, you should be cautious of anyone who is “too eage r” to post a bond, since an alien who intends to violate his or her status (e.g., by working in the U.S., or by committing an act of terrorism) may consider the posting of (and loss of) the bond to be nothing more than “the cost of doing business.”

(c) Procedures . See 8 CFR 103.6(c)(2) , Chapter 45 of the Inspector’s Field Manual , and Chapter 12 of the Deportation Officer’s Field Manual for procedural information on the posting, breaching and cancellation of bonds.