United States - Haiti Observer Blog

Effective June 5th, 2013, United States Consul reported that renewal applications for a U.S. non-immigrant Visa will be automatically approved. The Embassy still reserves itself the right of convening any applicant whose case require an interview.

This is translated as such: any one holding a U.S. nonimmigrant visa for a duration of 5 years that was obtained in Port-au-Prince will be able to renew that non-immigrant Visas automatically. Here is how you do that:

1) Go online to get form DS-160

2) Take the completed form to the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince.

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Haitian-American Harry LaRosiliere, the first Black to be elected as mayor of Plano, Texas, in its entire history

Plano is one of the largest cities in the state of Texas. Haitian-American Harry LaRosiliere wan decisively over his opponent, Republican Party Chair Fred Mosesare by over 20 percent

More information about Haitian Mayors

In his acceptances message, LaRosiliere said:"I am honored that the citizens have given me their trust. "I realize it is a privilege to serve as mayor, and I will work hard for every citizen to make Plano a great place to call their home."

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Here is the documentary that you have heard so much about. Assistance Mortelle or Fatal Assistance in English was realized by Hatian filmmaker Raoul Peck. It is an exposé that provides a look at the response of the international community following the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. This film that made its World Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, has a duration of 1:45 minutes.

Se dokimantè ou te tande anpil pale sou li. "Asistans Mortelle" te reyalize pa Hatian sineast Raoul Peck. Se yon ekspoze ki bay yon gade sou tranbleman tè 12 janvye 2010 an Ayiti.

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History of Haitian migration is pretty old. While millions cross the borders to become permanent residents of other countries, there are millions others who ride the same ferry but only to return after some time. Millions of Haitian people migrate and settle in Bahamas, Montreal in Canada, Cancun and Mexico City in Mexico, Cuba, United States and Dominican Republic. Other countries like French Guiana, French Antilles, France, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos and Jamaica also have vast numbers of Haitian diaspora.

As of date, it is estimated that around 1.2 million Haitian people live in U.S. with proper documents while there are many others that have entered U.S. borders illegally. Canada is reported to have 200,000 Haitians while Dominican Republic is estimated to have 2 million Haitians. Bahamas accounts for 80,000 Haitians while the reported figure for France is 90,000.

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The Haitian HOPE (Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement) Act of 2006 (also known as HOPE I) was enforced on 6th Dec 2006. As a part of this Act, exports of certain Haiti-made apparels to U.S. were made tariff-free. The intention was to attract investment in apparel industry with the underlying plan being development and economic growth. The condition was that only those apparels will be made duty free whose raw materials were imported by Haiti from any country provided, a part of the sourced material must come from a country that is a part of U.S. Unilateral Preferential Trade Arrangement. Apart from this, Haiti was also required to establish:

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It started as an outreach program dreamt up while its founder was on a medical trip to Haiti. Dr. Jeremiah 'Jerry' Lowney went to Jérémie, Haiti, to take stock of the health needs and offer his skills as a dentist in the regional clinics. Moved by what he saw, Lowney built an outpatient clinic, offering the full spectrum of care, however basic, to the families within the community. It was the birth of the HHF (Haitian Health Foundation), and is the reason for this remarkable man's new distinction, being among United States President, Barack Obama's 12 Champions of Change.

When he built the first HHF building with his own resources in the early '80's, Lowney was able to give immediate help to the poor and desperate through the clinic and other facilities housing X-ray equipment and a full laboratory. His initial effort grew to where HHF aid is offered in 104 rural communities, a representation of a quarter million of the poorest in the hemisphere.

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If there is one Haitian official that does keep the media occupy, it's none other than our famous Deputy of Tabarres Delmas, Arnel Belizaire. After his recent issue at Haiti Post office and the Parliamentary session, now, according to some unconfirmed report, Deputy Arnel Belizaire has been denied the renewal of his diplomatic visa by the U.S. consulate in Port-au-Prince.

Can someone confirm this?

According to haitinews509.net, the information was confirmed by Deputy Arnel Belizaire that his application for the renewal of his diplomatic visa not granted by the United States.

Assuming this is a fact. Can a foreign government just make a unilateral decision without presenting causes to denied renewal of diplomatic visa of an official?

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Former President René Préval's dealings with the United States began with great promise. He had made the US one of his first visits after winning the 2006 elections, and was quickly congratulated by President George Bush upon his reelection. In the States, the presidential meeting was thought to be fortuitous of the relationship between the two countries under Préval's administration.

Then René Préval surprised them. A series of cables from the US Embassy, made available to Haitian press by WikiLeaks, show that initially, Préval's offense was his dealings with Venezuela and Cuba, a circumstance the US hadn't anticipated after Préval's actions to reassure them. US Ambassador Janet Sanderson took umbrage to perceived shows of 'independence or contrariness', shown by Préval in his dealings with Ugo Chavez. This was exacerbated by Préval's signing the Venezuelan PetroCaribe alliance, a coup with considerable benefits to Haiti, including the estimated $100 million the government would save per year. Washington had made it plain they would not support a Haitian oil deal with Venezuela.

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Haiti is experiencing an imminent food crisis, which has at its core the destruction of rice farming. The agricultural sector of Haiti, made up of subsistence farmers, cannot compete in an international market overrun with poor quality imports, especially rice, Haiti's number one staple.

Back in the 1970s, rice cultivation was a thriving industry, requiring no foreign imports to meet domestic needs. But that changed at the start of the 1990s. An attempted coup against then-President Aristide set off global trade embargos, stifling Haiti's export market. At this juncture, cheap imports from abroad came in droves. Haiti, a desperately poor country, has needed development banks' aid. They drove a hard bargain, enforcing a lower import tariff, from 50% to 3%. This negatively impacted the economy, because it became more affordable to import U.S. rice than to farm it domestically.

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U.S. Agency for International Department (USAID) started a program that aimed towards boosting up the economy of Haiti through targeted loans to Haitian business units. It has been found in an audit that program failed as the intended targets did not receive the loans, workers were not trained properly and there was no systematic record maintenance. The Office of Inspector General of USAID released the audit report towards the end of February. The aim of this audit was to find out whether areas like waste management, handicrafts, tourism, construction and agriculture were benefited through the promotion of lending practices.

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