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ROSEAU, Dominica, Jun 10, CMC -Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit Wednesday said he is not in a position to comment on the decision by the United States government not to renew the visa of the Dominican-born newly elected president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Gregor Nassief.
“I do not know the circumstance. I’m not, I’m not part of the consular department of the United States government. This is not a denial of entry to Dominica, which I can speak to… so that, that question is better addressed to the United States government and the consular department in Barbados,” Skerrit told a news conference.
Last Friday, Nassief confirmed that he had been denied a renewal of his United States visa, saying the issue may be in keeping with Washington’s implementation of partial travel restrictions for nationals of Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica.
The restrictions stem from President Donald Trump’s concerns regarding the screening and vetting of applicants through the Citizenship-by-Investment (CBI) programme through which foreign investors are granted citizenship of these islands in return for making a substantial investment in their socio-economic development.
Both St. John’s and Roseau have been holding talks with officials in Washington on the issue that also includes suspending the issuance of certain immigrant and non-immigrant visas.
The measure came into effect as of January this year with Washington imposing a limited ban on Grenada which came into effect in April.
Nassief, whose tenure as the CHTA president takes effect at the end of this year, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that while his 10-year visa is due to expire in August, the visa for his Venezuelan-born wife, expires in about two weeks time.
“We were turned down, we were denied ….the gentleman was very clear. He asked some questions and then he said, well, you know, there’s a ban on Dominica, so we’re not able to issue a visa. And that was the end of it, really,” said Nassief, a prominent hotelier and businessman here.
Skerrit told reporters that there are hundreds of Caribbean people, if not thousands, who have been denied US visas over time, not only during the Donald Trump administration, but throughout the existence of the United States.
“… so I don’t, think one should make a big issue of anyone being denied a visa to any country,” Skerrit said, adding that Dominica at times deny visas to Haitians.
“Personally, from an ideological standpoint, I do not believe in visas. I believe that the world need to get rid of visas completely and go back to the original way of how the world used to be, that people used to travel unhindered.
“But the reality is now that countries are faced with, from a security standpoint and other considerations and therefore, countries choose to put restrictions that they believe is in their national interest.”
Skerrit said that as Prime Minister of Dominica, he respects the United States’ position on the visa issue.
“That is not for me to agree or disagree with them. This is in their national interest, as they determine it to be, and we’re not going to engage in a quarrel over that, over this issue.
“Because if you look at it, there are many countries that deny people entry, from time to time,” Skerrit said, adding “I’m not in a position to respond to the specifics in respect to any, any individual not having been issued a visa”.
Skerrit said that he is aware that Washington has indicated that it would be conducting a review of its visa decision regarding Dominica in June adding “ we continue to engage the US on this.
“There’s an almost weekly engagement with the State Department by our Ambassador. I, too, am in touch with the U.S. government especially through the U.S. Embassy in Barbados on a regular basis and as late as, as late as yesterday, I was in touch with the …U.S. Embassy, engaging on this issue.”.
Skerrit said that while the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had during a meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders “indicated that around June or thereabout, they will have a review of the situation and make a determination.
“But one also have, also has to be pragmatic with these things and … we all recognise the United States has bigger fishes to fry at this time, and, and countries like ours, you know, are small sprats, in a deep ocean.
“And, and so we hope that sometime we’ll be allowed for a review of the position,” Skerrit said, addin “we maintain that there was no real justification to impose this on Dominica in the first place, but it has been done.”
He said Roseau continues to have an engagement with Washington on the issue “in a respectful manner” and is hoping for a “favourable revisitation of that position and that the status quo is reinstated.
“So we’ll continue to engage on this and any new developments will certainly inform the nation as time goes by. But this is, this is, this is an entirely, entirely in the hands of the United States government and we believe that based on our engagement with them, we would have taken all of the necessary actions, to address any perceived or real concerns which they would have had,” Skerrit told reporters.
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