The ‘Land of the free’ just became land of the $15,000 fee

If you want to visit the US, you might soon need to pack more than a suitcase – try a $15,000 (£11,286) security deposit.

That’s the logic behind a revived Trump-era scheme quietly being piloted by the US State Department.

Citizens from Malawi and Zambia will be forced to fork out the hefty deposit for a tourist or business visa, aiming to curb visa overstayers or ‘where screening and vetting information is considered deficient’, according to a US government notice.

To further complicate things, they must arrive and depart via only three airports, or risk being denied entry. Sure, they get the deposit back if they comply with all the terms, but it sets a dangerous precedent.

In practice, it’s little more than legalised discrimination – a blunt, bureaucratic penalty for the crime of com