Antigua and Barbuda is among dozens of countries that could face travel restrictions to the United States under a draft proposal being considered by the Trump administration, according to reports from The New York Times and Reuters.
The New York Times report, authored by Charlie Savage, Ken Bensinger, and Allison McCann, reveals that the administration is considering targeting citizens from as many as 43 countries as part of a new ban on travel to the United States that would be broader than restrictions imposed during President Trump’s first term.
Reuters, in a report by Humeyra Pamuk, cited an internal memo that lists 41 countries divided into three separate groups for different levels of travel restrictions.
According to Reuters, the memo indicates that the third group of 26 countries “would be considered for a partial suspension of US visa issuance if their governments do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days”.
According to officials familiar with the matter who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity, Antigua and Barbuda has been placed on a draft “yellow” list of countries that would be given 60 days to address certain concerns or risk facing more severe restrictions.
The timing of the potential travel ban is particularly significant for Antigua and Barbuda as it comes just months after Caribbean nations with Citizenship by Investment Programmes (CIP), including Antigua and Barbuda, agreed to establish a regional CIP regulatory body following meetings with the US Treasury Department.
At a meeting in Grenada in August 2024, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) announced progress in implementing six CIP principles agreed upon with the US in 2023.
The Reuters report notes that President Trump issued an executive order on January 20 requiring intensified security vetting of foreigners seeking admission to the US to detect national security threats.
That order directed several cabinet members to submit by March 21 a list of countries from which travel should be partly or fully suspended because their “vetting and screening information is so deficient.”
A US official speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity cautioned there could be changes to the list and that it was yet to be approved by the administration, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Antigua and Barbuda’s CIP has faced increasing scrutiny in recent years with the US State Department previously cited the country’s programme for “lack of transparency” in its 2020 Human Rights Report, where it noted concerns about oversight and corruption.
The Times report indicates that countries on the “yellow” list would need to address issues such as “failing to share with the United States information about incoming travellers, purportedly inadequate security practices for issuing passports, or the selling of citizenship to people from banned countries.”
This development follows record-breaking CIP applications in Antigua and Barbuda during the first half of 2024.
According to data from the Citizenship by Investment Unit, the programme received 739 applications in the first six months of the year — a 205 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023 and exceeding the total for any previous whole year.
This surge came shortly before the implementation of new minimum investment standards across the Eastern Caribbean, which increased from US$100,000 to US$230,000 as part of regional standardization efforts.
According to both news outlets, the proposed travel restrictions would be structured in tiers.
The Times reported a “red” list of 11 countries whose citizens would be flatly barred from entering the United States, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, and Venezuela.
Reuters reported that a second group of five countries — Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan — would face partial suspensions affecting tourist and student visas as well as other immigrant visas, with some exceptions.
Despite efforts to address US concerns, including the implementation of four of the six principles agreed upon with the US — a collective agreement on denials, mandatory interviews for all applicants, additional checks with each country’s Financial Intelligence Unit, and suspension of application processing for Russian and Belarusian nationals — Antigua and Barbuda’s inclusion on the list raises questions about whether these measures are sufficient.
According to Reuters, the move “harkens back to President Donald Trump’s first term ban on travellers from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.”
When contacted for comment, Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs E P Chet Greene said: “I have seen the circulation of the NYT story but as Minister of Foreign Affairs the government is yet to receive anything official from the U.S government. We, however, take note of the story.”
