BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE decision to remove the “place of birth” field from the St. Kitts-Nevis passports was not done at the request of the United States Government as was previously indicated by the Press Secretary to the Prime Minister, Erasmus Williams.
A communique issued today (July 16) by the Consul General to the U. S. Embassy to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS, Mark Bysfield, states that “The United States has not requested any changes to passports issued by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis...”
Sometime last week while speaking with WINNFM 98.9, Williams said he was privy to statements made at a particular conversation during which it was stated that the removal of the “place of birth” field was requested by the United States Government.
“I must make reference to remarks made quite recently by Dr. Ken Ballentyne during the recent meeting with Prime Minister Douglas and the service providers of the St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Programme and I recall Dr. Ballentyne reminding Prime Minister Douglas and his stakeholders, service providers at that meeting, that the place...of birth from our St. Kitts and Nevis Passport was removed at the request of the United States authorities, and I think that is a very important statement which he reminded the Prime Minister of...”
Subsequently however, Williams said the US did not influence St. Kitts and Nevis’ decision although it was aware of it.
“On 9th July 2014, in an interview with WINNFM, I made reference to a statement made by Dr. Ken Ballentyne on the nationally fields being removed from the St. Kitts and Nevis passports at the request of the United States Government. Although the US Government was aware of St. Kitts and Nevis’ decision to make this change following guidelines from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), it was not made at their request.”
Although Williams said the decision to remove the “place of birth” field from the passports was taken “following guidelines from the ICAO”, the communique suggested that the ICAO places some degree of importance on that the need for that information in machine-readable passports.
“We note that the Press Secretary to the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis has clarified that no such request was ever made by the United States. In fact, the International Civil Aviation Organization specifies place of birth as a key element of biographic data for machine readable and e-passports... The United States will continue to comply with the international standards set forth by the International Civil Aviation Organization in the visa adjudication process.”
The US Embassy release said the absence of important biographic data has resulted in the lengthier visa processing times for holders of St. Kitts and Nevis passports.
“The U.S. government notified the St. Kitts and Nevis government that versions of the St. Kitts and Nevis passport that lack key elements of biographic data have caused the U.S. government to require additional documentation from applicants for U.S. visas to evaluate their eligibility. Because of the missing biographic data, holders of St. Kitts and Nevis passports who apply for U.S. visas have experienced delays in processing times.”
