MICHAEL PINTARD US VISA POLICY “NONSENSICAL”
(This article first appeared in The Nassau Guardian by Latonya Roberts on 12 June 2025 and is presented without comment—Editor)
Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Michael Pintard said yesterday that the United States’ decision to suspend student visa appointments at embassies around the world was “nonsensical”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last month a decision to have US embassies around the world stop scheduling new student visa appointments, as it prepared to expand social media screenings of foreign students.
However, a US judge later ordered that the decision be halted and the State Department has resumed processing student visa appointments.
Pintard said Bahamian students should look beyond the US for education and consider studying in The Bahamas or other parts of the world.
“With respect to Bahamians who wish to school in the United States, obviously, the US is making a decision that is absolutely nonsensical,” Pintard said.
“Countries are enriched to the extent that, in a controlled way, in terms that you define as a country, others can come in and contribute to your development, but on your terms.
“So what the US is doing – that’s inconveniencing Bahamians and persons from around the world who study in the US – is most unfortunate.”
Pintard said Bahamian students should explore education in other regions of the world and should jump-start their tertiary education in the country.
He said, “We should then, while we have dialogue with the Americans, also explore other places to get education.
“For example, we go to the Caribbean, University of the West Indies, we go to Canada, to Europe. We are traveling around the world.
“To the extent that the US closes its door, the rest of the world will open up and only the US will get hurt by it.
“We ought to make sure we get our children in the best schools around the world. They should begin here first.”