The United States said on Thursday it was imposing visa restrictions on Ghana, accusing the African country of not cooperating in accepting its citizens ordered removed from the United States.
Ghana “has denied or unreasonably delayed accepting their nationals ordered removed from the United States,” a Department of Homeland Security release dated January 31, 2019 said.
As a result, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “has ordered consular officers in Ghana to implement visa restrictions on certain categories of visa applicants,” the statement said.
“Beginning on February 4, 2019, the U.S. Embassy in Ghana will discontinue issuing all non-immigrant visas (NIV) to domestic employees (A3 and G5) of Ghanaian diplomats posted in the United States. It is important to note that A3 and G5 visa applications will be processed, but no visas in these categories will be issued while these restrictions remain in effect. The lack of adjudication does not mean a visa denial. The application will remain pending until the visa restrictions are lifted, at which point, the visa application will continue to be processed for issuance.”
“In addition, consular officers will limit the validity period and number of entries on new tourist and business visas (B1, B2, and B1/B2) for all Ghanaian executive and legislative branch employees, their spouses, and their children under 21 to one-month, single-entry visas. Visas issued prior to the effective date of these visa restrictions will not be affected.”
“All other consular operations at the U.S. Embassy in Accra will continue as normal at this time. These visa restrictions will not affect other consular services provided, including adjudication of applications from individuals not covered by the imposition of these restrictions (for example, student visas).”
“We hope the Ghanaian government will work with us to reconcile these deficiencies quickly,” the Secretary of Homeland Security added.
