US may reconsider B1 visa bond requirements for Bangladeshis: CA's office

The United States has indicated it will positively consider Bangladesh's request to ease travel restrictions for businesspeople.

Bangladesh's National Security Adviser, Khalilur Rahman, raised the issue with Allison Hooker, US undersecretary of state for political affairs, during talks at the State Department in Washington, DC, on Friday, according to a press release from the Chief Adviser's Press Wing.

He asked that Bangladeshi businesspeople be exempted from the new B1 visa bond requirement and that travel be made easier in light of the rule's potential impact.

Hooker acknowledged the request and assured Khalilur that the US government would positively consider the proposal. She also indicated that if overstay rates decline substantially in the future, the US might review the bond requirements that have been introduced recently. 

Hooker expressed appreciation for Bangladesh's cooperation in the return of undocumented nationals. The two officials discussed a range of issues, including preparations for Bangladesh's upcoming general elections, economic and trade relations, the Rohingya crisis, and regional matters.

Khalilur briefed Hooker on election preparations and thanked the US for supporting the interim government, particularly in facilitating a democratic transition and backing free and fair polls scheduled for February. Hooker affirmed continued US support for democratic processes in Bangladesh. 

The discussions also touched on opportunities to expand trade, access to US Development Finance Corporation funds for Bangladesh's private sector, access to financing for semiconductor development in Bangladesh and Bangladesh's interest, in principle, in being part of the international stabilisation force to be deployed in Gaza. 

Hooker said the US is willing to explore these proposals.

In a separate meeting with Assistant Secretary of State Paul Kapur, the adviser discussed issues of mutual interest, including the upcoming election in Bangladesh, US-Bangladesh bilateral relations, the US visa bond, trade and investment among other issues.

As a special invitee, Khalilur also attended the swearing-in ceremony of Brent Christensen, the newly appointed US ambassador to Bangladesh, held at the State Department.

Khalilur also met with US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, who  agreed to raise with President Donald Trump the possibility of reducing Bangladesh's current 20% reciprocal tariff rate to better align it with those of regional competitors, said Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder. 

Under a proposed preferential scheme discussed between the two officials on Friday, Bangladesh would receive tariff-free access to the US market for textile and apparel exports equivalent to its imports of US-produced cotton and man-made fiber textile inputs, calculated on a square-metre basis, reports UNB.