U.S. Revokes Visa of Former Attorney General Godfrey Smith

A notice from the U.S. Embassy in Belmopan says the U.S. visa of Godfrey Phillip Smith, a former Attorney General and Foreign Minister of Belize, has been revoked.

The notice, titled “Notice of Visa Revocation”, says the U.S. Department of State revoked the visa on Nov. 7 under section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It says the action is based on information that “has come to light” after the visa was issued, “indicating that you may be ineligible for your visa.” The notice does not say what that information is.

The visa is a B1/B2 visitor visa. The notice says that if Smith is in the United States, the revocation takes effect when he leaves, and that if he is not, it is effective immediately. It says he cannot travel to the United States on the current visa and must apply for a new one if he plans to travel in the future.

Godfrey Smith, SC, is the founder and senior partner of his law firm. He was Attorney General of Belize from 1999 to 2003 and Foreign Minister from 2003 to 2005. From 2017 to 2020, he served as a High Court judge and acting Justice of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

In private practice he specialises in commercial and public law litigation. He has appeared before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington and the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The notice comes as the U.S. State Department reports a sharp rise in visa revocations. On October 20, it said the Trump administration has revoked more than 300,000 U.S. visas since the start of the president’s second term in January 2025, according to Reuters. Back then, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the administration “has revoked more visas at a faster pace than any administration in history.”