Nairobi — A Kenyan doctor has written an open letter to the incoming United States Ambassador to Kenya, Margaret Whitman, over inordinately long periods the country's embassy takes to consider visa applications.
Elizabeth Wala also expressed deep concern over the huge sums of money charged in visa applications fees that are forfeited by unsuccessful visa applicants or successful applicants who fail to utilize visas granted long after their purpose of intended travel to the United States.
Wala referenced an incident where one of her daughters was due to travel to the United States for a school competition only for her to be slotted for an interview in 2024 after paying the USD240 visa application fee.
"In June 2022, one of my daughters qualified to attend The World Scholar's Cup Global Round in Dubai, a debate and creative writing competition. I scraped and scrounged, and she attended the competition. She, thereafter, qualified for the grand finale called the Theatre of Champions in Yale, USA to be held in November 2022," she stated.
"When we came back, I immediately embarked on a journey to start the VISA process. I needed an invitation letter from the Global Scholar's Cup which was sent immediately. I then applied in the system for both of us. The total amount of money for the VISA was Ksh. 38,400 (~240USD) I had to borrow from one of the companies I run with my nanny to pay for it."
Wala faulted the US Visa Section for being insensitive to strict timelines some of the visa applicants face saying the waiting period for interviews denies most applicants the opportunity to pursue the opportunities they seek.
"Of what use was this appointment when the event was in November 2022?" she posed referring to the 2024 interview appointment.
Wala said her daughter's urgent application was declined, denying her the chance to compete at the international event, even after asking for an expedited appointment.
"I know my daughter will be disappointed. All I am asking is for change in the system to get people to pay when they are due for the appointment; to refund the application fee to people like us who give up when given a two-year waiting date," she appealed.
Her sentiments were echoed by Mohamed Hersi, a seasoned hotel manager and tourism stakeholder, who termed the nonrefundable Sh38,000 visa application fee as "nothing but a diplomatic scam."
"I am afraid to say that the USA is not very keen to facilitate travel of Kenyans to the US. A good friend with her daughter has been given an appointment date for May 2023, surely what is so technical in that an appointment must be pushed close to one year," Hersi retorted.
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With the amount of information, the visa sections have asked for and all the AI we got surely does it have to take that long?" he asked.
Hersi also recalled being denied the US Visa in 2019 leading to him missing out on a tourism congress in the US.
"In 2019 I personally experienced the pain of being denied a US visa, in the process I missed to attend a tourism congress in the US, yet I have been to the US in the past," he stated.
Hersi wondered why the US visa section does not consider receiving a fraction of the handling fee, preferably 20 per cent, so that only successful applicants clear the balance of the visa fee.
He called on the government to engage the US in a bid to address the serious discrepancy adding "at the very least, the Embassy should treat Kenyans better by not withholding interview dates for a year or so."
Hersi asserted that the anomaly in visa processing was the cause of the Ferdinand Omanyalla's case who almost missed out on World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
