The United States of America has placed a visa ban on some category of applicants in Ghana over the failure of the Ghanaian government to collaborate with the deportation of Ghanaians arrested for illegally living in the US.
A statement by the US state department said Ghana may be laden with further sanctions if government does not begin to collaborate to receive its citizens marked for deportation.
“Ghana has failed to live up to its obligations under international law to accept the return of its nationals removed from the United States,” a statement by Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said.
It added: “Pursuant to her authority under Section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen notified Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the Government of Ghana has denied or unreasonably delayed accepting their nationals ordered removed from the United States. As a result, Secretary of State Pompeo has ordered consular officers in Ghana to implement visa restrictions on certain categories of visa applicants.
“Without an appropriate response from Ghana, the scope of these sanctions may be expanded to a wider population. The sanctions will remain in place until the Secretary of Homeland Security notifies Secretary Pompeo that cooperation on removals has improved to an acceptable level.”
The statement explained: “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”.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
