PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) – The US Department of State has announced a major reorganisation of immigration visa processing for Haitian nationals.

In a statement on Wednesday, the department said applications for legal permanent residence filed by Haitians will no longer be processed here, but at the US Embassy in Nassau, Bahamas.

“The US Embassy in Nassau has been designated to conduct immigrant visa services for residents of Haiti,” it said.

The decision was made amid a worsening security crisis in this French speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) member state and restrictions on the operations at the US Embassy in Haiti.

For several months, the US diplomatic mission has been under a departure order, meaning that a large portion of US diplomatic personnel have been required to leave the country.

The significant reduction in staff has had a direct impact on the embassy’s ability to provide routing consular services, including visa processing.

In response, Washington decided to restructure by transferring some of its Haitian cases to a consular post.