By Admin. Updated 5:31 p.m., Thursday, January 15, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
The United States’ Embassy for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean has confirmed the pause in the issuance of Immigrant visas for Vincentians and other Caribbean nationals.
In a post made today (January 15), the U.S. Embassy based in Bridgetown, Barbados said:
“Effective January 21, 2026, the US Department of State is pausing all visa issuances to Immigrant Visa (IV) applicants from 75 countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.”
“Immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of affected countries may submit visa applications and attend interviews, but no immigrant visas will be issued to these nationals during this pause.”
“This announcement only affects immigrant visas.
Non-immigrant visas are not affected by the pause,” the Embassy added.
On January 14, international media outlets reported that 75 countries had received a pause of issuance of immigrant U.S. visas.
President Trump also made the announcement on his social media platforms.
Some CARICOM countries were not included in the pause. They include Trinidad and Tobago which has facilitated the U.S. in its military activities in the Caribbean Sea.
Guyana , where a major U.S. oil company is functioning was also not included.
Earlier this year countries such as Antigua and Dominica with Citizenship By Investment non-residency concerns were flagged by the U.S.
Some Caribbean countries also announced that they would facilitate taking third country deportees from the U.S.
It is not clear why countries such as Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines with no CBI were among those included in the latest pause.
There is no announcement that countries like St. Vincent and the Grenadines were asked to take third party deportees, but with over 700 people still displaced from Hurricane Beryl, SVG might have grave difficulties accepting refugees. Jamaica might be in a similar situation.
As it relates to the immigrant visa pause, CNN reported on January 14 that, “The suspension comes after the State Department last year directed increased scrutiny under the “public charge” provision of immigration law meant to target those who the Trump administration believes will become a strain on public resources.
“The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement Wednesday, according to CNN.
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