Trinidad and Tobago–United States relations include Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance treaties, which have been in force since 1999. An agreement on Maritime Cooperation was signed in 1996. There are large numbers of U.S. citizens and permanent residents of Trinidadian origin living in the United States (mostly in New York and Florida), which keeps cultural ties strong. About 20,000 U.S. citizens visit Trinidad and Tobago on vacation or for business every year, and more than 4,600 American citizens are residents. Principal U.S. Embassy Officials include: The U.S. Embassy for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is located in the Capital-city Port of Spain, on the
Dominion of Trinidad and Tobago of government). Elizabeth II visited the islands in February 1966. Following the abolition of the monarchy and the promulgation of a republic on 1 August 1976, the last governor-general, Sir Ellis Clarke, became the first President of Trinidad and Tobago. Dominion of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 31 August 1962 and became a republic on 1 August 1976. When British rule ended in 1962, the Trinidad and Tobago Independence Act 1962 transformed the British Crown Colony of Trinidad and Tobago into an independent sovereign state, sharing its sovereign, Elizabeth II, the