Prime Minister Gaston Browne says new United States visa restrictions affecting citizens of Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica are temporary and part of a wider immigration policy overhaul.
Speaking after the 50th Caricom Heads of Government meeting in St Kitts and Nevis, Mr Browne said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had assured regional leaders that the measures form part of a global rollout of a revised visa framework expected by June.
Under updated US State Department reciprocity schedules, B1/B2 visitor visas for both countries have been reduced from 10 years with multiple entries to single-entry visas valid for three months.
Nationals applying for new visas must also post a bond of between $5,000 and $15,000, determined at interview. Bond holders are required to enter and exit the US through designated airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport, among others in the US and Canada.
The restrictions also apply to several non-immigrant visa categories, including student, exchange, temporary worker and media visas. Diplomatic visas are unaffected.
Mr Browne said the changes should not be seen as targeted at Antigua and Barbuda or Dominica. He said US officials cited concerns about visa overstays and access to social services, adding that leaders of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States argued that their regional overstay rate – estimated at about 1.3% to 1.4% – was minimal.
Partial restrictions were first announced in December 2025, when Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica were listed among 15 countries under a White House proclamation citing national security concerns linked to Citizenship by Investment programmes.
Mr Browne said the measures apply only to new applications and do not affect existing valid visas. He advised citizens to delay non-urgent applications, noting that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can request exemptions in cases such as medical emergencies.
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Antiguans & Barbudans and Dominicans are yet to hear and understand from their governments why they are the only ones singled out for this Visa squeeze. The attempt at giving a probable cause and reason was lame and feeble at best.
Mr Know it all – Audley Phillip. Since you know the reason or reasons, feel free to share. Your assertion that we know the true reason and that we are not sharing is simply speculative drivel.
Then again. Mr Know it all has all of the answers.