CARICOM

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The U.S. State Department has introduced a 12-month pilot program requiring citizens of Malawi and Zambia to pay a refundable $15,000 bond when applying for B-1/B-2 (tourist or business) visas. The policy aims to deter visa overstays and targets countries with high overstay rates, weak vetting, or citizenship-by-investment programs without residency requirements. According to 2023…

Read More U.S. Visa Overstay Data: How the Caribbean Compares to Malawi and Zambia
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“US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered US embassies around the world to stop scheduling appointments for student visas as it prepares to expand social media vetting of such applicants.” Source: BBC article More than 1.1 million international students from over 210 countries were enrolled in US colleges in the 2023-24 school year, according to…

Read More Caribbean Student Enrollment in U.S. Colleges: 2000 to 2024
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On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced a comprehensive tariff policy that includes a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from countries outside of Canada and Mexico, effective April 5, 2025. This move appears to be a part of a broader effort to address the U.S. trade deficit and promote domestic manufacturing. Additionally, targeted…

Read More U.S. Imports from the Caribbean in 2024: A Look at the Dollar Value of Trade
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An article from The New York Times dated March 14, 2025, discusses the Trump administration’s plans to implement a new travel ban affecting citizens from dozens of countries, including four from the Caribbean. The initiative follows an executive order signed by President Trump on January 20, 2025, which directed cabinet members to compile a list of countries…

Read More Caribbean Nations Caught in Draft US Expanded Travel Ban
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United on Crime In a recent show of regional solidarity, CARICOM leaders agreed to work together to combat crime, including an ambitious proposal to designate criminal gangs as terrorist organizations (see here, here, and here.) This move appears to signal a growing recognition of the urgent need to tackle escalating violence in the Caribbean through…

Read More CARICOM: United on Crime, But Fractured on Recent UN Ukraine Vote?