US visa rules unchanged for Suriname travellers despite Antigua Cuba vote reversal

Antigua and Barbuda reversed its planned support for a United Nations resolution concerning Cuba after the United States State Department warned that backing the measure could damage negotiations over visas for Antiguan nationals travelling to the US, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.

Browne told his weekly radio programme that the government had already decided to support the resolution before the call from Washington. No change to US visa rules or processing for Antigua and Barbuda nationals has been announced.

Key facts

• Antigua and Barbuda changed its position on a UN resolution concerning Cuba after a call from the US State Department.
• The vote in question took place during a debate on 28 October.
• Browne said the instruction to Antigua and Barbuda's ambassador in New York was to abstain.
• He said the ambassador did not show up for the vote and that he did not know what happened.
• Ongoing negotiations concern visas for Antigua and Barbuda nationals wanting to visit the United States.
• Antigua and Barbuda has agreed to suspend its Citizenship by Investment Programme, with an agreement to suspend from 12 November.

Why did the position change?

Browne said the State Department told the government that progress was being made in visa negotiations and that supporting Cuba would undermine them. "Our instructions to the ambassador in New York were to abstain," he said, adding that the government changed course because of things that were said and that the matter is not within its control.

The prime minister's comments followed a caller to the programme who said she could not travel to the United States to be with her ailing mother because her visa had expired and obtaining a new one remained difficult. Browne said there was no justification for the situation, noting that Antigua and Barbuda has had very good relations with the United States and has never done anything to offend it.

How did other Caribbean countries vote?

Of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries present at the 28 October debate, Jamaica, Haiti and Guyana abstained, while Trinidad and Tobago voted against the resolution. The Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis and Suriname voted in favour. Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and St Lucia were recorded as absent when the vote was taken.

Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has since defended her government's decision to support the US trade and economic embargo against Cuba.

What is happening with US visas for Antiguan nationals?

Browne said the matter is now being handled at the State Department, but that a determination has been made by someone in the White House. He said he did not know whether President Trump signed the order or is driving it himself, which he said makes the issue difficult. He added that members within the State Department are working on it and that the government is pursuing diplomatic channels.

The prime minister said he wondered whether the US position was guided by Antigua and Barbuda's Citizenship by Investment Programme (CBI), under which foreign investors are granted citizenship in return for a substantial investment in the country's socio-economic development. He said the government has agreed to suspend the programme, wrote to the European Union to say it is ready to suspend, and asked for an additional three and a half years. He is waiting to hear back, and said that after the agreement to suspend from 12 November the government will write again to confirm the formal suspension, which he described as a phase-out over three and a half years.

What this means for travellers

For Antigua and Barbuda nationals, the source describes US visas as difficult to obtain, with one caller unable to renew an expired visa. No new visa rules, fees or processing times have been announced, so travellers should check current US visa requirements before making plans.

Antigua and Barbuda is awaiting a response from the European Union on its request for an additional three and a half years as part of the CBI suspension, and Browne said diplomatic efforts on the visa issue are continuing.