By: Deborah Amewoyi
Out of 61,000 United States visa applications that were received, reports have indicated that only 25,000 applicants from Ghana were approved in the previous year. This response from the US embassy in Ghana could have probably led to shattered hopes, lost of relevant opportunities and a waste of financial resources on the part of the Ghanaian visa applicant.
Did you know that you could visit the official website of the US embassy to apply for visa without having to include middle men? yes you heard that right. In an interview with JoyNews, US general Consul in Ghana, Elliot Fertik has called for an end to the practice of involving middle men or agents in applying for visas with the intention of influencing the embassy into getting the various applications approved.
Mr. Fertik stated categorically during the interview that middle men are likely to fraud visa applicants who pay more to receive approval. “No one has special access to the visa appointment calendar, paying such people often results in fraud and violates both U.S. and Ghanaian law.” he warned.
On the part of the visa applications fees which is a compulsory requirement, the US consul made it clear that fees paid during visa applications are not refunded. He clarified according to the laws of the United States that fees will not be refunded because it covers the costs that will be incurred whilst processing the visa applications.
“U.S. law requires us to collect the cost of processing each visa application, regardless of whether the visa is granted or denied. This fee covers the processing costs incurred by the government.” Notably, Mr. Fertik added that this approach applies worldwide and is not restricted to Ghanaian citizens only.
Then to student visa applicants, here is a caution! The US embassy is likely to reject visa applications in most cases if their social media activities poses potential threats to the US. The US embassy is set to conduct an enhanced vetting of the social media and online presence of all student visa applicants before validation. “We reserve the right to engage in social media vetting for any visa applicant; however, under the current administration, we are focusing in particular on social media vetting for students” he registered.
To ensure that the number of validated visa applicants appreciates by the end of this year, applicants especially students must assess their social media presence to ensure that activities they engage in do not counter on the US laws.
