Sales of our passports in crooked deals isn’t the only corruption of Antigua and Barbuda’s once respected Citizenship by Investment Programme.
Following the disclosures of Browne giving away our passports as a bonus in the Alfa Nero sale, the U.S. has moved on two fronts that materially affect us all. This won’t be fixed as long as Browne is prime minister.
First, Browne is costing us huge sums of money to travel to the U.S. The State Department’s Visa Bond Pilot Program now requires otherwise eligible B‑1/B‑2 applicants from Antigua and Barbuda to post refundable bonds of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, effective January 21, 2026, with strict “commercial air port of entry only” conditions and DHS Form I‑352 processing through Pay.gov. The Department’s official list confirms Antigua’s inclusion.
Second, Browne has made all of us a screening risk, first in the U.S. and soon in Europe. A December 16, 2025 Presidential Proclamation partially suspends entry for Antiguan nationals on B‑1, B‑2, F, M, and J visas, explicitly citing Antigua and Barbuda’s history of CIP/CBI without residency as a screening and vetting concern. A White House fact sheet reiterates Antigua’s inclusion in the partially restricted group. These measures show U.S. authorities treating Antiguan passports as an elevated screening risk, a policy reality that gives the passports‑as‑consideration clause in the Alfa Nero sale concrete consequence far beyond optics.
Attorney Martin de Luca, in his April 25 memorandum to the federal court in Miami, again raised the problem of Browne giving Antigua and Barbuda passports to the Alfa Nero’s Turkish buyers and family members:
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