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Nairobi — The US Embassy in Nairobi now says delays in VISA processing was on account of backlog attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whereas stating that the earliest date for these making use of for the US customer visa interviews in Nairobi is from June 2024, the embassy indicated that this can be a worldwide drawback that’s being addressed.
“As we work via the backlog of purposes and deal with the excessive demand for companies, we acknowledge that some candidates might face prolonged visa interview wait instances. It is a worldwide drawback,” an announcement from the embassy indicated.
It identified that on account of this, the embassy has doubled the variety of each day interviews for visa purposes and in addition elevated its workers to deal with the elevated capability.
“This has necessitated the embassy to make some modifications within the visa utility course of as the present visa interview wait instances will now mirror on their up to date web page with emphasis on the nonrefundable payment to allow candidates to make knowledgeable selections earlier than submitting their purposes.” It said.
The embassy additional defined that the consulate has additionally launched a visa renewal course of that doesn’t require an in-person interview for these renewing customer (B1/B2) visas and scholar visas (F class) whose visas expired lower than a yr.
It said that it’s going to contemplate pressing circumstances akin to scholar visas and pressing medical care.
“We provide expedited appointments for emergency conditions, together with dying of a right away member of the family, the necessity to journey for pressing medical care and for college students whose program begins in lower than 30 days and who will undergo irreparable hurt, such because the lack of a scholarship, if they can’t journey,” said the Embassy.
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The consulate nevertheless assured Kenyans that it’s going to take the required steps to scale back the visa interview wait time as quickly as doable.
The embassy’s response follows a criticism by a Kenyan physician who wrote an open letter to the US envoy to Kenya Margaret Whitman, over inordinately lengthy intervals the nation’s embassy takes to think about visa purposes.
Elizabeth Wala additionally expressed deep concern over the large sums of cash charged in visa purposes charges which might be forfeited by unsuccessful visa candidates or profitable candidates who fail to make the most of visas granted lengthy after their goal of meant journey to the US.
Wala referenced an incident the place certainly one of her daughters was on account of journey to the US for a college competitors just for her to be slotted for an interview in 2024 after paying the USD240 visa utility payment.
“In June 2022, certainly one of my daughters certified to attend The World Scholar’s Cup World Spherical in Dubai, a debate and inventive writing competitors. I scraped and scrounged, and she or he attended the competitors. She, thereafter, certified for the grand finale referred to as the Theatre of Champions in Yale, USA to be held in November 2022,” she said.
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