Diplomatic talks between the government of Antigua and Barbuda and the United States Department of State are ongoing, with Prime Minister Gaston Browne expressing cautious optimism that Washington will lift the partial visa restrictions currently imposed on the nation’s citizens when the policy comes up for its scheduled review this June.
In a recent televised interview with ABS Television, Browne revealed that high-level discussions with senior U.S. officials – including Deputy Secretary of State Landau – have centered entirely on resolving the visa restriction dispute. The prime minister stressed that his administration’s core goal is to see the policy expire without renewal, allowing the two countries to return to their pre-restriction visa arrangement for Antigua and Barbuda travelers.
A key point of contention from the Antiguan and Barbudan side is that the restrictions were put in place based on what Browne calls a fundamentally false claim. The U.S. allegedly justified the limits by arguing that the country’s popular citizenship-by-investment program fails to require residency for program participants, an assertion Browne flatly denies.
Browne went on to outline that Antigua and Barbuda has upheld rigorous compliance protocols for its investment immigration program for more than 10 years, including aligning all applicant screening processes directly with U.S. sanctions lists and automatically rejecting applications from individuals linked to sanctioned jurisdictions. “We have a sanction-list-only programme that moves in tandem with the United States,” Browne explained, emphasizing the nation’s long-standing commitment to meeting international security standards.
The prime minister also shared that even some senior State Department officials have privately acknowledged misgivings about how the restriction was originally implemented. “We would have spoken to members in the State Department … and they regretted that such action was taken based on a false premise,” Browne said.
Reaffirming his government’s clean record, Browne emphasized that neither he nor any member of his administration have engaged in activity that would warrant the imposition of visa restrictions. He stressed that Antigua and Barbuda has remained “totally compliant” with all relevant international norms and agreements. Moving forward, the nation will continue sustained diplomatic engagement with U.S. officials to secure a full, permanent reversal of the partial visa restrictions.