The United States has committed US$7.8 million to a scheme that transfers third-country nationals to Guyana, according to details disclosed this week by the American ambassador in Georgetown. US Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot disclosed the figure on Wednesday while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event, saying the funding forms part of a two-year contract with the International Organization for Migration.

The arrangement allows Washington to send migrants who are neither American nor Guyanese citizens to Guyana rather than to their countries of origin. At the centre of the arrangement is a two-year, US$7.8 million contract with the International Organization for Migration, which is responsible for supporting the resettlement or temporary stay of these third-country nationals. The IOM administers the funds rather than the Guyanese government.

Theriot set out what the money is intended to cover. She said the money is intended to cover a wide range of support for the individuals, including housing, food, healthcare and assistance with resettlement or return to their home countries. Job skills training also falls within the package, alongside provisions for the individuals to stay in contact with relatives abroad.

Guyana holds the final say over who arrives under the scheme, and it has used that authority sparingly so far. Theriot said the United States does not send anyone to Guyana without approval from the Guyanese government, and that the number who arrive depends on how many people on a given manifest the Guyanese government finds acceptable. That vetting produced a striking gap between what Washington proposed and what Georgetown accepted. Theriot disclosed that from the most recent manifest, only six people came, despite the list being quite large, signalling that local authorities have taken a cautious approach.

A criminal record is enough to disqualify a candidate outright. According to Theriot, the process is driven by Guyana's insistence that it will not accept anyone with a criminal record. Guyanese officials do not rely solely on information supplied by American agencies. The checks run against criminal databases held by the Caribbean Community, and Guyana also uses its own intelligence services.

The pace of transfers was originally meant to be steady rather than sporadic. Theriot said the US had hoped to send one flight a month with individuals approved by Guyana, though the first transfer demonstrated that the number of arrivals could be significantly smaller than the number initially proposed. How many people ultimately pass through the scheme remains an open question, tied entirely to how strictly Guyana continues to apply its checks.

Individuals admitted under the arrangement are not funnelled towards a single outcome. People have the choice either to remain in Guyana temporarily while arrangements are made for their return to their country of origin, or to pursue resettlement as a longer-term option, subject to agreement with the host authorities. Guyanese officials have separately stressed that participation on the migrants' side is meant to be voluntary rather than imposed.

The first arrivals under the scheme touched down earlier this month. The funding disclosure follows the September 4 arrival of Guyana's first cohort of six deportees, four Cuban and two Afghan nationals. Guyana's government has linked its willingness to take part to domestic economic conditions rather than presenting it purely as a favour to Washington. Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud said accepting skilled, vetted migrants aligns with Guyana's labor shortage, estimated at 70,000 to 80,000 workers amid the country's oil-driven economic expansion.

For now, officials on both sides describe the programme as narrow in scope. Persaud said the US has made no further requests for additional transfers at this time. Whether that changes will depend on how many further manifests Washington submits, and how many names on them Guyana is willing to approve.

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