Antigua and Barbuda presses Washington to drop it from permanent US visa bond programme
Prime Minister Gaston Browne wrote to President Trump as the Haitian Bridge Alliance condemned bonds of up to US$20,000 as discriminatory.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda. The government of Antigua and Barbuda says Prime Minister Gaston Browne has written to President Donald Trump seeking a review of US visa restrictions and visa bond measures affecting the country.
The government said it had made two further diplomatic representations after the State Department published a final rule establishing a permanent Visa Bond Program, and its embassy in Washington submitted a diplomatic note asking Secretary of State Marco Rubio for an early review of Antigua and Barbuda’s inclusion.
Antigua’s case
Measures highlighted in Browne’s letter included tighter residency requirements under the Citizenship by Investment Programme, biometric co-operation with the Department of Homeland Security, and full co-operation with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in accepting the return of nationals lawfully removed.
The government also said Antigua and Barbuda had historically had a visa overstay rate of little more than 1 per cent, and that no citizen had sought refugee status in the United States.
The programme
Under the rule, consular officers may require some business and tourist (B-1/B-2) visa applicants to post a bond of up to US$20,000. The State Department said bonds may apply to nationals of countries with high overstay rates or deficient information sharing and screening, and described the programme as “a tool of diplomacy”.
In May the department identified Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Dominica and Grenada as Caribbean countries needing visa bonds.
Advocates object
The Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) condemned the expansion. Executive Director Guerline Jozef said bonds of US$5,000 to US$20,000 create “a wealth-based barrier to lawful travel”.
“This policy is discriminatory in both its design and its practical impact,” she said, adding that it overwhelmingly affects countries with majority Black and brown populations.
The HBA urged the State Department to suspend the programme pending review and called on Congress to hold a hearing and direct the Government Accountability Office to investigate.
