Citizens are being urged to comply fully with travel regulations, especially now that Trinidad and Tobago has been excluded from the US State Department's list of countries whose nationals must pay a visa bond of up to 15,000 US dollars for business and tourist entry into the United States.
00:00A statement on the U.S. State Department's website confirms that Trinidad and Tobago is not among the countries whose nationals are required to pay the 15,000 U.S. dollar visa bond.
00:13Immigration attorney Nafisa Mohammed says this reflects the positive relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States,
00:22adding that it signals that Trinidad and Tobago nationals are not generally flagged for overstaying their time in the U.S.
00:31However, she has this advice for citizens.
00:34It is a minuscule number of persons who may be in breach of the law.
00:41And what we can do is to encourage our citizens and to maintain that kind of awareness that if you apply for a visa,
00:49and you are going to be a visitor in another country, that you comply with the rules and regulations and just do not overstay your time.
00:57Mohammed also shares her thoughts on the increased cost of U.S. visas for Trinidad and Tobago nationals.
01:04The total now stands at around 3,000 TT dollars or 435 U.S. dollars due to a new 250 U.S. dollar visa integrity fee,
01:16which has been added to the standard 185 U.S. dollar application fee.
01:21The new fee is non-refundable and will only be charged if the visa is approved.
01:26$3,000 for a visa is quite, is almost twice the amount than what we were accustomed to paying.
01:36I think it used to be about $1,200 and changed, nearly $1,300.
01:41So whatever it is, I mean, if it is a policy that has been imposed worldwide,
01:48we can only hope and pray that with that quiet diplomacy,
01:51so something more favorable probably can be negotiated on our behalf.
01:56On the issue of repatriation of Trinidad and Tobago nationals still in Syria,
02:01Mohammed says she's open to dialogue with the Trinidad and Tobago national security apparatus.
02:07She also says that she is aware that a committee has been established to expedite the process.
02:13She tells the TV6 Morning Edition that it is a humanitarian crisis
02:17and families with children remain displaced,
02:21noting that their relatives locally may be willing to help government
02:25in renting an aircraft in whatever way they can.
02:28In terms of having to charter an aircraft and to get these citizens from the camp back to Trinidad and Tobago,
02:39I see that already there is a relationship building with some Middle Eastern countries
02:45as it relates to airlines and so.
02:48And most of the relatives, if it comes to a situation where they have to help in that cost exercise,
02:57we have been having conversations and there can be some further collaboration to help in that regard
03:03so that it will be at minimal cost to the government.
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