Expired US visa delays Foreign Minister By Erica Virtue, Staff Reporter An expired American visa caused Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Trade Anthony Hylton some anxious moments at the Miami International Airport recently, while he was on his way home from official Government business in Europe. The Sunday Gleaner understands that the Minister was delayed by United States immigration officials after he arrived in that country last month from London, England, without proper entry documents. The visa in his diplomatic passport was not valid. Mr. Hylton sought to clarify his position and his anxious moments ended when a representative from the Jamaican Embassy in the U.S. identified him as a Minister in the Jamaican Government. Last week, Minister Hylton told The Sunday Gleaner that it was discovered at the Miami airport that his U.S. visa had expired days before. He said that he was on his way home from a series of meetings in Brussels, Belgium and London. While en route, he said, Industry and Investment Minister Dr. Paul Robertson asked him to stop in London to attend a meeting involving the banana industry. "However, I had a meeting scheduled for my constituency. I realised that if I overnight in the (United Kingdom) and come home at the scheduled time, I would miss my constituency meeting," Mr. Hylton said. According to him, he changed his flight schedule and travelled through Miami, where he could make a connecting flight to get to Jamaica in time for the meeting. Mr. Hylton said that had he come to Jamaica from the U.K. the matter would not have arisen. "It was when I got off the flight in Miami and went to customs officials that I realised that my visa had expired in April," he said. "They brought it to my attention and I explained that I did not know before. Because if I had planned to come through the U.S., as a matter of course, my office would check to make sure that the documents are in place." Miami immigration representative Rodney Germaine confirmed that Mr. Hylton's visa had expired, but he denied that Miami immigration officials required Jamaican Embassy officials to identify the Minister "by face." "In the specific instance, he was granted a waiver allowing him to come into the country although he did not have the documentary evidence with him," Mr. Germaine said. "The consular general (representative of the Jamaican Embassy) was actually at the airport awaiting this gentleman (Mr. Hylton) to come in. He happened to be there already and he vouched for him. But it was not a requirement that he be identified by face."
|
