U.S. Embassy Bridgetown to close routine visa, U.S. citizen services effective April 11, 2011 in event of U.S. Government shutdown

US embassy in Barbados

Bridgetown, Barbados Friday, April 8, 2011 – In the event of a U.S. Government shutdown, the U.S. Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados will continue to provide emergency services, including emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in need.

However, routine visa services are not considered to be emergency service and therefore would not be provided during the possible shutdown from April 11 onward.  The U.S. Consular Agency in Antigua and U.S. Consular Agency in Martinique would also be closed during a possible shutdown, starting April 11.

As the situation changes, updates will be posted to the U.S. Embassy public website http://barbados.usembassy.gov and Facebook page – www.facebook.com/USEmbassyBarbados   and released to the media across the Caribbean.

Effective Monday, April 11, the following Embassy and Consular services will be suspended if a shutdown is confirmed:

American Citizens Services (ACS):  The Embassy would provide emergency assistance for cases involving deaths, arrests, hospitalizations and missing persons. Notarials, reports of birth, and routine passport services would be suspended.  Applications for emergency passport appointments would be considered only for stranded U.S. citizen visitors facing extreme hardship or those with a documented medical emergency.  Questions and requests for emergency passport appointments can be sent to [email protected].

Federal Benefits (FBU): The routine distribution of Social Security Administration (SSA) checks would not be affected. The Federal Benefits Unit would only provide assistance to SSA beneficiaries with pending claims in dire need.

Temporary or Non-Immigrant Visas (NIV):  Appointments for temporary visas (for tourism, business, study, etc.) scheduled from April 11 onward would be cancelled until further notice.   Emergency visa services, narrowly defined, such as visitor visas for applicants traveling for deathbed visits, funerals and emergency medical treatment may be provided on a case by case basis.  When the Embassy resumes processing of routine NIV services, appointment slots will be made available and applicants would need to reschedule their visa appointment online at http://evisaforms.state.gov/schedulingsystem.asp.  Any pending visa issuances will be completed and returned to applicants.

Immigrant Visas (IV):  If there is a Government shutdown, U.S. Embassy Bridgetown’s Immigrant Visa Unit would not be able to interview any applicants from April 11 onward.  The IV Unit would reschedule any affected April appointments for the first available dates after the Embassy resumes processing of routine services.

Please monitor media reports and U.S. Embassy Bridgetown’s website and Facebook page for updates and further information.

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30 Comments

  1. wanna travel summer
    April 14, 2011

    :cry: someone tell me,is this really true??????????

  2. dominican
    April 12, 2011

    i dont think this is true…i’ve been looking for further articles to support this and nothing…… ??? :?:

  3. occcuuuayte
    April 11, 2011

    :-D :lol: :-D :-x :mrgreen: omg that is right this is not

  4. *****
    April 11, 2011

    I don’t think half of you here even understood the story. After all even in the US places would be shut down.. stupes people. steeeee upessssssssss. If there is a shut down then there is a shut down. What makes Bridgetown so special?

  5. rapunzel
    April 10, 2011

    so how i gan renew my ting wen i ready to go on my vacation! a a all u cum out

  6. Muslim_Always
    April 10, 2011

    These zionist pigs didn’t even give a reason or apologize for the incovenience.

    • fair game
      April 10, 2011

      wow.. you really don’t read the news do you????

      • Muslim_Always
        April 11, 2011

        I’m reading DNO and according to the source, they did not apologize, what else do you want me to read?

        • fair game
          April 11, 2011

          umm world news? getting all your info from one source is small minded and you will tend to get one side of the story… it’s like only watching FOX news….

          a well rounded individual should gain his knowledge of world matters from many sources (CNN, BBC, FOX, Al Jazeera and the many other news agencies…). To make a statement like that based on what DNO alone tells you is irresponsible.

        • fair game
          April 11, 2011

          By the way… if it did come to the Embassy closing those visa services, the US then could extend its apologies for the inconvenience… but it never came to that. I’m pleased to tell you those services are still open because the the US came to an agreement on budget cuts before midnight Friday. SO you can still got get your visa and you can go visit the US.

  7. i dame glad
    April 9, 2011

    dominicans too like to run oversea like it betta,jus dur dissing dominica and its people bcuz dey can run away,an dey still doenst cum out betta wen dey go away,dey coming back an meet all dose struglers who stay in dominica hav dur big house an shining.dominicans will learn to appreciate wat ia durs now,cuz dey cannot go usa,and dat glad 4 all dem boutique owners who urs go an shop usa ,an buy leg-gins for dollar and cum an sell it $100 dollas,tank GOD 4 dem chinies who can giv us sumting cheap 4 us to live by.dey keep durself quiet now,tlk nor

    • *****
      April 11, 2011

      uhmm you’re not making much sense

      • dd
        April 12, 2011

        :lol: i’m dats tru cuzall u cannot go allu doin dat.. we hv to go explore cannot stay one place all d time
        stupezzzzzzzzzzz

        • uuu
          April 12, 2011

          who hv well hv papa gud 4 all u

  8. Independant not dependent
    April 9, 2011

    Who can run will run but and too bad for those who can’t they will have to stay. Oppertunity is a scarce scarce commidity in this time. Stay and develop all u dam country and stop voting and running.

  9. Independant not dependent
    April 9, 2011

    Who can run will run but and too bad for those who can’t they will have to stay. Oppertunity is a scarce scarce commidity in this time. Stay and develop all u dam country and stop voting and running

  10. The truth
    April 9, 2011

    people this has nothing to do with us. this is all part of cost saving which is going on in the entire first world including all of europe china and the middle east. i read comments where people assuming we are being targeted and sorts of rubbish. these countries are in serious debt and they sorting out their finances so anything they deem unnecessary has to go. we are not citizens of there country so they are not obliged to please us. they are broke so they watching the pennies that all

  11. unbias
    April 8, 2011

    congress votes tonight, and business as usual, i think that what we should do is teach our followers what is warrior politics. well done Obama. a true leader even when the odds are against him.

  12. Charmer
    April 8, 2011

    Thanks DNO. Good job

  13. IS SO WE COME?
    April 8, 2011

    That’s what the republicans wanted to come there for , so they could stop things for stopping sake

    • Blue
      April 9, 2011

      republicans HATE democrats with a passion trust me… here in the US some republicans were actually betting on how long it takes until Obama would get assassinated its unbelievable… they even went as far as saying he is trying to destroy America….

  14. zoro
    April 8, 2011

    hmmm. u get the feeling the US is actually
    targeting the islands supporting libya. no visa 4 u!
    well offcourse peter pay for paul…
    am just saying…. its twisted but its possible. no?

    • fair game
      April 9, 2011

      no…I think at the moment the US Federal Government doesn’t have time to “target” some little islands that are “supporting” Libya.

      You really think that?

      You really think the US Federal Government is going to shut down and put 800,000 federal workers on non paid leave just to “target” a few little islands? Please tell me your mind is bigger than that.

      DNO please put up a news story about the US Federal shutdown so readers don’t make uninformed statements. Thank you.

      • zoro
        April 9, 2011

        hmmm u frightened man? i hope u have your visa already…

        but seriously..

        it was just a question– no matter how big or small the mind behind the question is….
        .
        sometimes, fair game,… what may sound like nonsense is actually what might be going on. u can never know. never think an idea is 2 ridiculous to be carried out.

        • fair game
          April 10, 2011

          in this case… what you proposed was not what was happening at all. I believe the only reason you made that statement was because the article didn’t explain the background very well as to why all this could happen.

          Did you know that even US citizens in the US weren’t going to be able to get a passport till the federal government reopened?

          All governments are capable of some pretty twisted things…we’ve seen it over and over….here in DA… in the US… and all over the world….but we still have to use some common sense when we are discerning truth.

  15. MR burns
    April 8, 2011

    Childish Gridlock over idelogy and politics yes people its not only in Dominica such things are happening. The global level.

    • Aaaaa
      April 8, 2011

      And you can see one commonality with the chaos in the world. Its caused by men!

      • Blue
        April 9, 2011

        lol one word PALIN

  16. mouth of the south
    April 8, 2011

    omg,,, well that will stifle business for a while,,,, they’ll get a taste of how bad things will be if the u.s move their embassy from b/dos for good hhhmmm

  17. HMMMM
    April 8, 2011

    HMMMMM! sa cay kaishoy!

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