Statement by Sir Ronald Sanders
Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organization of American States
On the instructions of, and with the guidance of, the Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda— with whom I have been working closely following the issuance of the United States Proclamation entitled “Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States,” issued on 16 December 2025—I met today with senior officials of the United States Department of State.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Proclamation and its implications for Antigua and Barbuda.
At that meeting, the following matters were confirmed and agreed, and I wish to place them clearly on the public record.
First, all visas currently in existence and validly issued to holders of Antigua and Barbuda passports will continue to be respected and accepted for entry into the United States. This applies to all visa categories, including B-1, B-2, J, and M visas.
For the avoidance of doubt, this includes tourist, business, student, and other valid United States-issued visas.
Second, there will be no revocation of any existing visas issued to nationals of Antigua and Barbuda prior to 31 December 2025.
Third, with regard to new visa applications submitted after that date, these will be subject to new arrangements that are still to be worked out with several Caribbean countries, including Antigua and Barbuda.
These arrangements relate specifically to the collection of biometric information of Antigua and Barbuda passport holders to ensure full compatibility with United States biometric systems.
I emphases that the process of gathering the biometric information will be no different than now applies to all Antigua and Barbuda citizens; only the technology will change to align it with the US system.
This alignment of biometric data systems will apply to all citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, including citizens by birth, descent, naturalisation, or investment.
On behalf of the Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda, I wish to express appreciation to the officials of the United States Government who have worked with us constructively and in good faith to address this matter.
We are grateful for their commitment to continue working with us in furtherance of the cooperative relationship that our two countries have long enjoyed.
Antigua and Barbuda recognises and respects the responsibility of the United States to protect its national security.
We have pledged—and we reaffirm—our commitment to continue working closely with United States authorities on all necessary measures to ensure that our systems present no risk to U.S. security, while preserving legitimate travel for our citizens.
We are pleased that clarity has been achieved on these immediate concerns, and we will continue to participate fully in the work now underway to ensure the continuation of strong people-to-people exchanges between the United States and Antigua and Barbuda.
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