The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

MORE than 4,000 evacuees from the Bahamas sought temporary relocation in the United States after being forced to leave their homes in Abaco and Grand Bahama following monster storm Dorian.

According to Keith Smith, public affairs specialist with Florida US Customs and Border Protection, a “significant” chunk of this figure included US nationals as well who arrived in America by air and sea.

“On background, it’s important to note that a significant percentage of that was US nationals as well so this included Bahamians, but US (citizens) that lived in The Bahamas,” Mr Smith said.

The official said US CBP was working to process the arrivals of evacuees as expeditiously as possible as long as they adhered to established policies and procedures.

For the last several weeks, concerns have been raised on social media that Bahamians had been faced with more scrutiny than normal in attempting to enter the United States.

Earlier this week, Public Affairs Liaison with US CBP Michael Silva said the requirements had not changed, as he urged Bahamians not to fall prey to scams. He said if something seemed too good to be true then odds were it really was too good of an offer.

Mr Silva made the comments on Guardian Radio’s “Morning Blend” show with host Dwight Strachan on Monday.

Asked about the requirements for admittance into the US, Mr Silva said: “There has been a lot of misinformation and urban legends that are being spread. First of all, our hearts and prayers are with the Bahamian people who have experienced this disastrous and horrific hurricane. We are there to support and facilitate and assist as needed the Bahamian government, the Bahamian people, citizens and nothing’s changed.

“The US Embassy in Nassau is open for emergency visa appointments and US Customs and Border Protection as a point of entry are prepared should Bahamians request to temporarily relocate to the United States.

“Please be very, very careful of people that unfortunately will take advantage of people that have experienced this disastrous event. If a deal is too good to be true don’t do it, just please visit our website cbp.gov and also for the State Department at dhs.gov.”

Mr Silva said all travellers that are applying for admission to the United States via air and sea had to meet certain requirements to ensure orderly arrival to the US.

He said Bahamians must be in possession of a valid unexpired passport or a travel document. All other travellers arriving from The Bahamas, including US citizens and permanent residents or individuals of other nationalities, must possess a valid unexpired government issued passport.

“Now where there is a lot of confusion, especially when I was dealing with the press and trying to explain that to them here in the United States, is that if a Bahamian citizen travelling with a valid unexpired passport and a police certificate travels from a pre-clearance destination, a pre-clearance airport, they are allowed to travel to the United States with just a valid unexpired Bahamian passport and a police certificate.

“But if they travel by private vessel or private aircraft to the United States you are required to have a valid passport and a valid unexpired visa.”

He continued: “A couple Saturdays ago we received a cruise ship, the one that arrived to West Palm Beach. We processed that day over 1,500 Bahamian nationals that were relocating temporarily coming into the United States and we worked with the cruise ships ahead of time to make sure the documentary requirements are there.”

It is not clear what ship he was referring to, but there was a mix-up earlier this month regarding requirements for ship passengers. Some passengers from Grand Bahama could not be transported on the Baleària Caribbean because they had no visas.

The Baleària said at the time: “We regret and apologise for the hardship and inconvenience experienced by the 119 passengers who are residents from Grand Bahama Island who could not be transported yesterday, Sunday, September 8. We boarded these passengers with the understanding that they could travel to the United States without visas, only to later having been advised that in order to travel to Ft Lauderdale they required prior in-person authorisation from the immigration authorities in Nassau.”

Mr Silva said CBP has been urging transportation companies not to wait until the last minute to ensure requirements are met.