Browne Says Caribbean Must Adjust to Tougher US Immigration Rules and Visa Bonds

Prime Minister Gaston Browne says Caribbean nationals must adjust to increasingly stringent United States immigration policies, including visa bonds of between US$10,000 and US$20,000 for some applicants considered at risk of overstaying.

Speaking Saturday on the Browne and Browne Show, Browne stressed that the bond would not apply to everyone seeking a US visa.

“It’s not all applicants who apply who will have to pay the bond,” Browne said. “It’s based on the risk factor.”

He said applicants whom US authorities believe may not leave the country when required could be granted visas on the condition that they pay a bond. According to Browne, the minimum bond would be US$10,000 and could reach US$20,000.

The prime minister said the expansion of the policy to Grenada supported his earlier argument that Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica were not being singled out for wrongdoing by their governments.

Browne suggested that the two countries may have been used as “guinea pigs” as Washington tested immigration reforms that could later be extended to other nations.

“We have not done anything illegal, anything immoral that the United States can frown on and take any punitive action against us,” he said.

Browne said the United States was tightening its rules to discourage criminal activity, unlawful employment and visitors remaining beyond the periods authorized by their visas.

He acknowledged that Caribbean nationals have historically overstayed in the United States and said regional citizens must accept that entry into another country is not an automatic right.

“They have made it abundantly clear that no one has a right to visit the United States,” Browne said. “They have full control over it, and as far as they’re concerned, they’re tightening up.”

The prime minister also warned that travelers could face increased scrutiny at US ports of entry even after receiving visas. He claimed pregnant visitors suspected of traveling primarily to give birth in the United States could be refused entry.

Browne said Caribbean governments may disagree with aspects of Washington’s immigration policy but must recognize the United States’ authority to determine who enters its territory.

“We just have to respect the fact that things are changing,” he said.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: VIDEO: PM warns Caribbean Must Adjust to Tougher US Immigration Rules and Visa Bonds.