Deandrea Hamilton | Editor
Turks and Caicos, September 6, 2025 – Haitian citizens living legally in the Turks and Caicos Islands, who for years have quietly traveled to Nassau for their U.S. visa interviews without controversy, could now find themselves caught in the crossfire of a diplomatic storm.
On September 4, the U.S. State Department announced that all Haitian immigrant visa processing would be moved from Port-au-Prince to the U.S. Embassy in Nassau, effective November 1. Washington said the decision was driven by worsening instability in Haiti and the inability of its embassy there to safely operate.
That explanation is not without evidence. On July 28, the U.S. ordered the evacuation of non-emergency diplomatic staff and family members from Port-au-Prince, warning all American citizens to leave Haiti amid rising gang violence. On August 6, the embassy was forced to temporarily close after gunfire erupted near its Tabarre compound, resuming service only once the immediate danger subsided. By August 31, the situation was so dire that the U.S. deployed Marines to Haiti, confirming that a security contingent was sent to strengthen the embassy, protect facilities, and assist with troop rotations. A UN report noted that more than 1,500 people were killed in gang-related violence between April and June alone, underlining the deteriorating conditions.
Against this backdrop, the State Department’s relocation of visa processing may seem logical. Yet the choice of Nassau as the new venue has sparked outrage in The Bahamas. Prime Minister Philip Davis’s government insists it was not consulted and rejects the idea of becoming a visa hub for Haitian citizens. Officials have been explicit that Haitian citizens will not be permitted to enter The Bahamas solely for the purpose of attending U.S. visa appointments.
That stance carries immediate consequences for Haitian citizens in Turks and Caicos. To visit The Bahamas, they must hold a Bahamian visitor visa. If Nassau enforces its refusal, then even those legally resident in TCI could suddenly lose access to their long-standing consular route — a quiet arrangement that has functioned for years without issue.
The controversy also raises a question: why Nassau and not Santo Domingo? The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, has greater capacity, and already hosts a sizeable Haitian population. But strained relations between the two countries, coupled with Santo Domingo’s recent mass deportations and a politically charged border crackdown, may have made it an unattractive or unworkable option for Washington.
For Bahamians, however, the optics are galling. Already grappling with irregular migration from Haiti, they see the U.S. decision as an imposition that disregards national sovereignty. Davis’s administration argues the move would create a de facto transit pipeline the country neither requested nor supports.
Lost in much of the uproar is the nuance: Haitian applicants traveling from Turks and Caicos have long relied on Nassau as their nearest U.S. consular post. That practice was manageable and largely unnoticed. What is new — and politically explosive — is the wholesale relocation of all Haitian visa cases to Nassau, thrusting the Bahamian government into a role it is unwilling to play.
Unless Washington reconsiders its plan or Nassau shifts its hardline stance, Haitian citizens in Turks and Caicos — once able to quietly secure U.S. visa interviews in the Bahamian capital — may find themselves stranded, locked out by the very visitor visa requirement that until now was just a formality.
Caption: Photo of US Embassy in Haiti
