Bajans turning to Canada as new US visa policy spurs uncertainty

A new United States policy suspending new “green card” visas for nationals of 75 countries is unlikely to significantly affect most Barbadians, citing a steady shift in migration interest toward Canada and other destinations in recent years, an immigration lawyer said Friday.

Attorney Samuel Legay told Barbados TODAY that interest among Barbadians in permanently migrating to the United States has declined steadily over the past several years. Instead, Canada has emerged as the preferred destination.

“I think more persons want to go to Canada, that’s the thing,” he said. “Within the last three or four years, more persons come to go to Canada because Canada opened a lot more.”

He explained that most of the US-related immigration cases he now handles involve Barbadians who have already encountered difficulties with American authorities.

“Most of the persons who come to me within the last two or three years are Barbadians who have been deported from the US, had their visitor’s visa denied, or had their visa cancelled when they got up there,” Legay said.

In many cases, he added, problems arise when visitors overstay or are suspected of working illegally.

“They might overstay, or they go to work and immigration officers question them and find work-related conversations on their phones,” he explained.

By contrast, Legay said Canada’s immigration system has become far more accessible, particularly for individuals seeking asylum.

“Canada is a lot more open,” he said. “Barbadians are running there a whole lot for refugee status, especially LGBTQ persons from Barbados.”

He noted that this trend represents a major shift in migration patterns.

“That’s the big difference now,” Legay said. “I find more people going to Canada instead of the US because it makes it easier for them.”

While the US State Department’s freeze on immigrant visa applications has attracted widespread attention, many people are still trying to understand what its real implications might be.

“I don’t think people have digested that properly as yet, as to what effect it really has,” Legay said. “Nobody really comes to me crying out that this happened or that happened, or that it put them back, because I’m not too sure how bad it’s going to affect people from now.”

The policy change is still very new, and many potential migrants are adopting a wait-and-see approach, said Legay.

“We are waiting to see because it’s only just happened,” he said, noting that one of his clients in the US had recently secured a three-year extension on a work permit before the policy was announced. “He was telling me, ‘thank God I applied early,’ because he got another three-year extension last year.”

As uncertainty continues around the US policy, Legay said he believes Barbadians will continue to focus their migration plans elsewhere, at least until the long-term effects become clearer.

The Donald Trump administration has announced that the United States will indefinitely suspend the processing of immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries, including Barbados and most member states of CARICOM, with the measure set to take effect next Wednesday. 

The pause, which the US State Department says is intended to allow a reassessment of screening and “public charge” rules, will apply only to immigrant visas such as family- and employment-based permanent residence, and will not affect non-immigrant categories like tourist, business, student or temporary work visas. 

All but three CARICOM members states are among those affected – including Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Barbados – as the US clamps down further on legal migration.

While the pause does not affect non-immigrant visas for temporary purposes, including business, tourism, education and temporary work, the development has prompted renewed scrutiny in Barbados of the island’s long-standing migration links with the US and the potential impact on families pursuing reunification or long-term relocation there.