This announcement was made today, February 1, 2019, by the Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen.
US slaps Ghana with visa restrictions, here’s how it may affect you
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of the United State of America (USA) has announced that it has sanctioned Ghana with some visa restrictions.
Donald Trump
The implementation of visa sanctions on the country is due to the lack of cooperation from Ghana in accepting their nationals ordered to be removed from the United States.
Pursuant to the authority of the Secretary, under Section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), she 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.
This, as a result, made Mr Pompeo order consular officers in Ghana to implement visa restrictions on certain categories of visa applicants.
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Until an appropriate response has been made by the government of Ghana, the scope of the sanctions may be expanded to a wider population. It will remain in place until the Secretary of Homeland Security notifies Mr Pompeo that the cooperation on removals has improved to an acceptable level.
Kirstjen Nielsen said,“Ghana has failed to live up to its obligations under international law to accept the return of its nationals ordered removed from the United States,” adding that, “The United States routinely cooperates with foreign governments in documenting and accepting US citizens when asked, as appropriate, as do the majority of countries in the world, but Ghana has failed to do so in this case.
We hope the Ghanaian government will work with us to reconcile these deficiencies quickly,” she concluded.
The sanction is expected to take effect on February 4, 2019
Here’s the group of people the sanctions may affect
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The US 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. This means that A3 and G5 visa applications will be processed, but no visas in these categories will be issued while these restrictions remain in effect
Visa types
A: Diplomats and foreign government officials
B-1: Domestic employees or nannies (must be accompanying a foreign national employer)
B2: Visitors for medical treatment, Tourists, vacationers and pleasure visitors
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G1- G5, NATO: Designated international organisation’s employees and NATO
Citizens with the above visa types will be denied the visa to the US.
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