CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC) — St Lucians are being warned to be wary of a United States visa waiver hoax indicating that they no longer require the document to enter the North American country.
“We got a lot of calls to the Office of the Prime Minister with reference to the so-called release from the US State Department about a no visa requirement for St Lucian nationals travelling to the United States,” the prime minister’s attache, Nancy Charles, told reporters.
She was referring to information published on a website by News Arena and widely circulated locally, claiming that the US Department of State had updated the number of qualified Visa Waiver Programme designated countries from 38 to 39.
According to the information, St Lucian passport holders no longer require visas to travel to the United States.
However, Charles said the prime minister’s office had no idea where the story came from.
“That information has not been communicated to the minister of external affairs and we are asking members of the public to be cautious before spreading information, especially if it is not credible and from official sources,” Charles said.
She explained that, if the visa waiver story was genuine, there would have been some statement from the Office of the Prime Minister or the prime minister himself to inform the nation.
She said that such a development would have taken a lot of time and negotiation to achieve and recalled that just recently the National Emergency Management Organisation had to clear the air after reports began circulating that St Lucia was going to be hit by a tsunami.
“I would like to caution members of the public who are taking part in those activities to be mindful as to what we use the internet and the technology for.
“The technology is there for our benefit – as a people, as a country and we should not be using it for malicious intent or to spread false information,” she said, urging the public to ensure that the information they obtain is from a credible and reputable source.