By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net FREE National Movement (FNM) leader Michael Pintard said yesterday that US officials told the opposition they do not expect a major change in Haitian nationals travelling to The Bahamas to apply for visas, noting this has long been the practice. Mr Pintard said the opposition met with US Charge d’Affaires yesterday morning to discuss Washington’s recent announcement that Haitian immigrant visa applications will be processed at the US Embassy in Nassau starting November 1. “Again, we’re satisfied that they certainly understand the concerns that Bahamians have expressed,” he said. “They have indicated that, again, traditionally, persons from Haiti have come to The Bahamas in the past to apply to go into the US, and they do not expect that there would be a substantial difference. That is their view. But we expect the prime minister, who is responsible to Bahamians, for him to speak to the issues and what exactly they are doing.” “According to the Charge d’affaires, they have announced nothing new. In other words, persons were already coming to The Bahamas in order to apply for visas, so the first thing is to confirm whether or not that is the case.” “Do we expect, given the fact that there is an American embassy in Cuba, there is one in the Dominican Republic, do we expect an upsurge, or this will be business as usual? And all that has happened is that there has been a major announcement that has created heightened fears because the government has failed to address the issue earlier.” Mr Pintard also said the government should consider biometric screening to track arrivals and departures and be more transparent about whether people are leaving when they should. He again raised the question of flights to Haiti. Visa issuance to Haitians from the United States has been suspended, with limited exceptions for diplomatic and official visas, immediate relatives of US citizens, adoptions, humanitarian cases and applicants deemed to serve US national interests. The Davis administration has insisted that Haitian nationals will not be permitted to enter The Bahamas simply to apply for US visas.