The Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is seeking formal clarification from United States authorities following international media reports that the country has been included in a list of nations affected by a suspension of US immigrant visa processing.

Fox News reported Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were on a list of 75 countries whose nationals will be barred from receiving immigrant visas.

Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, Guyana and Suriname were the only Caribbean countries not on the Fox News list.

The Trump Administration explained the countries are being barred because their nationals place a strain on US taxpayers.

Speaking on January 14, Minister of Foreign Affairs Fitzgerald Bramble said the government has not received any official notification from US diplomatic channels regarding the reported policy change.

“I have been informed that media news outlets such as Fox News have been circulating a news release regarding the suspension of visa processing for citizens of 75 countries, including St Vincent and the Grenadines,” Bramble said.

However, the minister stressed that no formal communication has been received from US officials.

“We have not been officially informed by the US Embassy in Barbados, to the Eastern Caribbean, nor any other US government official for that matter. However, we are following the news item, and we are following up,” he said.

Bramble explained that the government is actively engaging diplomatic contacts to determine the accuracy of the reports.

“We have been contacting officials in the US Embassy in Barbados, and we have also been in contact with our embassy in Washington, DC, the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Embassy to the United States, to find out exactly what is happening in this regard,” the minister stated.

He said that, at this time, the government does not have any confirmed information regarding the reported suspension.

“So as of now, we don’t have any official information at all on this news article, and as soon as more official information comes to hand, I will inform the general public,” Bramble said.

The foreign affairs minister urged the public to remain patient as the matter is being clarified through official channels, noting that updates will be provided once verified information becomes available.