Bryan Seeks Homeland Security Talks to Broaden H-1B Visas for Caribbean Workers in the Virgin Islands

Even amid tightening visa and immigration controls and enforcement on the mainland, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. is advancing efforts to ease access into the territory by skilled Caribbean nationals seeking employment.

On Monday, the governor disclosed that a hoped-for meeting with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem had recently been cancelled. The discussion was to have centered around expanding the categories of H1B visa the United States Virgin Islands is allowed to accept, beyond sports, energy and entertainment.

A lobbyist group representing a contractor doing business in the territory is working feverishly to reschedule, Governor Bryan said. “I gott to go follow up…to make sure that we get that done because our recovery is heavily dependent on being able to bring on foreign labor. When I say foreign labor, I mean foreign to the Virgin Islands,” he explained.

Governor Bryan expressed a preference for seeking additional laborer from traditional source markets. “I rather have people who are already reflective of our diaspora to come and join us,” he declared during Monday's press briefing. “We want people more akin to have our moral values and cultures to come.”