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People & committees
Rep. Onder, Robert [R-MO-3] · R–MO
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Nov 20, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-03-04 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Timely Departure Act would require many people seeking temporary admission to the United States to post $5,000–$50,000, with exceptions for specified visa categories and nationalities. Those who overstay would lose that money, face prompt removal, and become ineligible for lawful immigration status for 4–12 years. People admitted in temporary immigration status would also face a deadline for requesting asylum or withholding of removal, a protection against removal.
This Act may be cited as the Timely Departure Act.
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an alien seeking admission to the United States as a nonimmigrant shall pay a bond or cash payment in an amount not less than $5,000 and not more than $50,000
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any alien who— (i) is present in the United States pursuant to a nonimmigrant visa issued under subparagraph (A), (C), (G), (P)(i), (T), or (U) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)); or (ii) is a national of a program country for purposes of the visa waiver program under section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187).
In the case of a nonimmigrant who has paid a bond or cash payment under paragraph (1) who fails to depart the United States before midnight (Pacific Time) on the date on which his or her authorized period of stay expires, such bond or cash payment shall be forfeited without the opportunity for appeal or review.
An alien whose bond or cash payment is forfeited under paragraph (2) shall be— (A) promptly removed from the United States; and (B) for a period not less than 4 years and not more than 12 years beginning on the date of such forfeiture, ineligible for any lawful immigration status or adjustment of status under the immigration laws.
An alien present in the United States pursuant to admission as a nonimmigrant who intends to seek asylum or withholding of removal in the United States shall submit an application for asylum or withholding of removal before midnight (Pacific Time) on the date on which his or her authorized period of stay in connection with nonimmigrant status expires.
Except for the listed exemptions, people seeking admission in nonimmigrant status would have to pay a bond or cash payment of $5,000–$50,000. The stated purpose is to help ensure departure before the authorized stay expires; the text does not establish whether this would achieve that purpose.
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an alien seeking admission to the United States as a nonimmigrant shall pay a bond or cash payment in an amount not less than $5,000 and not more than $50,000 to help ensure that the alien departs the United States before the date on which his or her period of stay authorized by the Secretary of Homeland Security in connection with such status expires.
The payment requirement would exempt people present under visas issued under the listed statutory categories—(A), (C), (G), (P)(i), (T), and (U)—and nationals of countries participating in the visa waiver program. The text does not reproduce the definitions of those categories or list the countries.
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any alien who— (i) is present in the United States pursuant to a nonimmigrant visa issued under subparagraph (A), (C), (G), (P)(i), (T), or (U) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)); or (ii) is a national of a program country for purposes of the visa waiver program under section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187).
A person who paid the required bond or cash payment and failed to depart before midnight Pacific Time on the expiration date of their authorized stay would automatically lose the payment, without an opportunity for appeal or review.
(2) Automatic and nonappealable forfeiture (A) In general In the case of a nonimmigrant who has paid a bond or cash payment under paragraph (1) who fails to depart the United States before midnight (Pacific Time) on the date on which his or her authorized period of stay expires, such bond or cash payment shall be forfeited without the opportunity for appeal or review.
Forfeited payments would go into a Department of Homeland Security account called the Immigration Detention and Enforcement Account. That money would have to be used solely for immigration detention facilities and international transportation for people ordered removed from the United States.
A forfeited bond or cash payment under this paragraph shall be deposited in an offsetting account under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, to be known as the Immigration Detention and Enforcement Account, and the amounts deposited into such account shall be used solely for purposes of funding alien detention facilities and international transportation for aliens ordered removed from the United States.
Anyone whose payment was forfeited under this provision would have to be promptly removed. Starting on the forfeiture date, they would also be barred for 4–12 years from any lawful immigration status or adjustment of status, the process for changing immigration status.
An alien whose bond or cash payment is forfeited under paragraph (2) shall be— (A) promptly removed from the United States; and (B) for a period not less than 4 years and not more than 12 years beginning on the date of such forfeiture, ineligible for any lawful immigration status or adjustment of status under the immigration laws.
People present following admission in nonimmigrant status who intend to seek asylum or withholding of removal would have to apply before midnight Pacific Time on the expiration date of their authorized stay. Unlike the bond requirement, this subsection does not state exceptions for the listed visa categories or visa waiver program nationalities.
(c) Limitation on asylum and withholding of removal claims (1) In general An alien present in the United States pursuant to admission as a nonimmigrant who intends to seek asylum or withholding of removal in the United States shall submit an application for asylum or withholding of removal before midnight (Pacific Time) on the date on which his or her authorized period of stay in connection with nonimmigrant status expires. (2) Consequence of failure to timely depart An alien described in paragraph (1) who fails to depart the United States before midnight (Pacific Time) on the date on which his or her authorized period of stay expires and who has not submitted an application for asylum or withholding of removal shall be ineligible to submit such an application after such date.
A person covered by the asylum provision who both failed to depart by the deadline and had not applied for asylum or withholding of removal would become ineligible to submit such an application afterward.
An alien described in paragraph (1) who fails to depart the United States before midnight (Pacific Time) on the date on which his or her authorized period of stay expires and who has not submitted an application for asylum or withholding of removal shall be ineligible to submit such an application after such date.
The Secretary of Homeland Security could issue implementing regulations or policy guidance only about collecting and retaining payments, notifying the Attorney General of failures to depart on time, and preventing avoidance of the payment requirement.
In implementing this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security may only issue regulations or policy guidance with respect to— (A) the collection and retention of bonds and cash payments; (B) the notification of the Attorney General with respect to the failure of an alien to timely depart the United States before midnight (Pacific Time) on the date on which his or her authorized period of stay in connection with nonimmigrant status expires; and (C) the prevention of the circumvention of the requirement to pay a bond or cash payment under subsection (b)(1).
The Secretary of Homeland Security would be prohibited from waiving or nullifying any requirement of section 2 through regulations, orders, or other actions.
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall not waive or nullify any requirement of this section, whether by rulemaking, order, or other action.
Section 2 would take effect 30 days after enactment, if the bill became law.
This section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
The supplied action snapshot, updated November 20, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on the Judiciary on March 4, 2025. It does not establish what happened after those recorded actions.
Source snapshot updated 2025-11-20T09:06:16Z. 2025-03-04: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. 2025-03-04: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-03-04. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; formal earmark disclosures and accompanying materials are not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains express exemptions from its main payment requirement. These are targeted exceptions, not a judgment about their justification.
People present under visas issued under statutory categories (A), (C), (G), (P)(i), (T), and (U) would be exempt from the otherwise applicable $5,000–$50,000 admission payment. The referenced category definitions are not supplied.
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an alien seeking admission to the United States as a nonimmigrant shall pay a bond or cash payment in an amount not less than $5,000 and not more than $50,000
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any alien who— (i) is present in the United States pursuant to a nonimmigrant visa issued under subparagraph (A), (C), (G), (P)(i), (T), or (U) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15));
Nationals of visa waiver program countries would receive a nationality-based exemption from the admission payment requirement. The exemption is written in terms of nationality, without expressly requiring admission through that program.
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any alien who— (i) is present in the United States pursuant to a nonimmigrant visa issued under subparagraph (A), (C), (G), (P)(i), (T), or (U) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)); or (ii) is a national of a program country for purposes of the visa waiver program under section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187).
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Nov 20, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI