Discussion continue with the Department of State

Prime Minister Gaston Browne says Antigua and Barbuda is engaged in ongoing discussions with the United States and is hopeful that a partial visa restriction affecting its citizens will be lifted when it comes up for review in June.

Speaking during an interview on ABS Television, Browne said recent talks with U.S. officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Landau, have focused on resolving the issue.

“We remain hopeful that in June, when the restrictions would have expired, there will be no renewals … and that we will return to the status quo,” he said.

Browne argued that the restrictions were imposed on a “false premise,” specifically claims that Antigua and Barbuda’s citizenship-by-investment programme lacks a residency requirement.

“There was this restriction, ostensibly because our programme does not have … a residency requirement, which clearly was not true,” he said.

He said the country has maintained strict compliance standards, including aligning its screening process with U.S. sanctions lists and rejecting applications from sanctioned countries for more than a decade.

“We have a sanction-list-only programme that moves in tandem with the United States,” Browne said.

The prime minister added that U.S. State Department officials had expressed concern about how the decision was made.

“We would have spoken to members in the State Department … and they regretted that such action was taken based on a false premise,” he said.

Browne maintained that neither he nor his administration had engaged in any conduct that would justify sanctions, insisting the country has been “totally compliant” with international standards.

He said Antigua and Barbuda will continue diplomatic engagement as it seeks a full reversal of the restrictions.