The United States government has lifted the visa restrictions slapped on Ghana recently, following a diplomatic splat when Ghana refused to accept the return of some 7,000 Ghanaian nationals that it wants to deport.
According to the US Embassy in Ghana, from “Friday, January 17, 2020, visa processing will return to the normal procedures.”
The lifting of restriction reportedly follows a mutually agreed process for the identification, validating and issuance of travel documentation to Ghanaian citizens.
The US imposed the visa restrictions on Ghana in February 2019 after Ghana refused to budge to a perceived bully attempt by the USA.
The Department of Homeland Security, in a statement last February, ordered the US Embassy in Ghana to discontinue issuing all non-immigrant visas (NIV) to two groups of Ghanaian applicants, starting February 4, 2019, including domestic employees of Ghanaian diplomats posted to the United States.
The US also went ahead to slap limitations on the validity and the number of entries on new tourists and business visas for all Ghanaian Executive and Legislative branch employees, their spouses and their children under 21 years to a one-month single entry visa, instead of the usually extended visa duration for five years.
“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 will revert to receiving the normal validity, based on reciprocity, which is currently five years with multiple entries,” the US embassy said in a statement released today.
The embassy added, “All pending non-immigrant visas (NIV) to domestic employees (A3 and G5) of Ghanaian diplomats posted in the United States that were received during the visa restrictions will now be processed.”