The Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda has sought to calm public concern over reports that some nationals may be required to post refundable visa bonds when applying for U.S. visitor visas, saying the measure affects only a very limited category of new applicants under a pilot programme.
Cabinet said existing U.S. visa holders are not impacted and stressed that the bond does not guarantee, nor automatically deny, visa approval. It added that Antigua and Barbuda was not given advance notice of the announcement by the United States, contributing to confusion locally and across the region.
While acknowledging isolated cases of overstays or unpaid public expenses abroad, Cabinet said Antigua and Barbuda maintains a low overstay rate and a strong record of cooperation with U.S. authorities.
At the Prime Minister’s direction, formal diplomatic engagement has begun at the highest levels, including the submission of a diplomatic note, as the government seeks fair and equal treatment for Antiguan and Barbudan passport holders.
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If existing visa holders aren’t affected, then social media really blew this out of proportion.
Stop the sale of passports! This problem could be solved a long time ago!
The US should have notified governments beforehand. This confusion was avoidable
Still not right though. Even a ‘pilot programme’ feels like Antigua being singled out again.
I keep hearing about narrow category. So what is the narrow category
The government keeps saying this bond only affects a very limited category of new applicants but up to now they cannot tell us what this limited category is. I suspect it is a category limited to all visa applicants from Antigua & Barbuda.
You are always trying to BAMBOOZLE the people with your foolishness we quite understand the issue. Of course some us are quite dumb, hence the reason you are still in Office
If UPP ever get in power I wanna see all these people bashing the government right here bashing UPP when the country goes far down hill to brink of collapse….Pringle will for sure make that a reality so go on down and vote to destroy your country next election…..Some of us a quite dumb they will be reminded of whop they are whenever UPP takes control….
Everything done was in the best interest of Antigua and Barbuda no one thought Trump would take up his stick and come do inspections…Ok ur selling passports and working with bad guys then boom Visa issues but what Gaston is saying is it was all in the best interest of the people….This issue will be over soon and those refugees will most likely move on from here like many of the Nigerians so relax and let the government sort out this shit storm Orange Man started….
My main question, will the bonds be interest bearing and what will be the interest rate? If it is interest bearing at a rate of over 5%, it might be a good thing for Antiguans.
For one thing, Antigua has gotten a whole lot of free publicity from this situation.
Second, if the bonds bear interest of 5% or more, it would be a very good saving opportunity for many Antiguans. We would be able to watch our money grow and perhaps change our culture from consumers to investors.
But, if it will bear no interest, then I would recommend that our people put our money to better use and let them keep their VISA. For extreme cases, you pay it and then collect your money when you leave. This is just another form of exploitation.
@ This World Is A Messed Up Place
I totally agree with you, about this world being a messed up place because it has your brain so screwed that common sense is not so common to you at all
@ this world is a messed up place,
I’ll agree that jumping from Gaston to Pringle is like jumping from the pot to the fire.
Having said that; I’ll also say: Your head is more messed up than The World.
Next time you go to the bank leave your bank card at the ATM with your pass code written on the back
@Concerned, America sells green cards at 800K under its EB5 program. For people like you it is only America who has the right raise money and live good.
@ JBF
There are many different types of Bonds.
In this case its a performance bond. It’s not a fidelity bond or or an investment.
Ron Saunders the Ambassador as well as the government has indicated what the US is concerned about; that resulted in the required Bond being necessary.
ITS A PERFORMANCE BOND
They the Government and Ron Saunders have tempered the US concern by saying a small number. It’s being said repeatedly but it is being ignored.
As you may have heard the US Government was shut down not to long ago over the issue of healthcare costs.
Antiguans are known to fly up to Miami and New York to give birth on a visitors visa. They leave with the medical bill behind.
The BOND is to ensure people don’t leave without paying their medical bills.
Rather than bellyaching. Look at the practice and see if it’s fair, when done individuals have been repeating this practice for 4 or 5 kids.
If research scientists in some of the best US universities are loosing their research funding,
should Medicare continue to cover the cost of tourism births?
Idiots. Idiots. Idiots. Are we just stupid? Aren’t people paying attention to what is going on in the US with Trump? You have no entitlement to go any where, not just the US. All countries have that right. Haiti is in Caricom, which means a Haitian should be able to enter any Caricom country without a visa for 6 months. However, only 1 Caricom country adheres to this Caricom agreement. Haitians must have a visa to the rest, including Antigua and Barbuda.
Don’t talk absolute nonsense. Selling passports was never in the best interest of the citizens of Antigua. This weakened your position on the global stage as wealthy non Antiguans used this loop hole to their advantage. Sadly it backfired and resulted in the whole country being at a disadvantage now. The world has changed since Covid and many countries now including the Uk are tightening their borders. No country is selling passports for £100,000 as no one wants migrants, rich or poor.
Taking in USA deportees states that Antigua and no other Caribbean island has a foot to stand on when asking for slave reparations payments from the uk. . If Antigua can’t say “ NO” to anyone then it tells me that the island is still in “ slave mode “.
The bigger issue that you need to take into account is that it is very expensive to manage deportees or people that can’t go home. We tried it in the uk with a deal with Rwanda and that didn’t take off.
Taking in refugees can destroy your tourism industry. The Caribbean is a premium holiday not a cheap holiday resort. Also the refugees are free people and they can move from one island to another .That in itself can destroy the region image and profitability. Also it’s odd to accept this deal from USA and not know the finer details regarding the financial support that I assume will be provided as the refugees will need homes, food , health etc … Your taking on another country problem and your stuck with it. You have become complicit and complacent with how the country is being managed . You rely on the USA so much that it’s become your life support. You haven’t made any trade deals with other countries such as Europe or the Scandinavians and you haven’t invested or diversified enough not to rely on USA . Your government hasn’t handled this well and I question whether they will be in power if your economy declines.
The same USA will place caution telling their citizens not to travel to our islands because it has dangerous criminals, but that’s a stupid suggestions I am making because we have far more dangerous criminals in Antigua and Barbuda which are the politicians.
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