African news. The United States Embassy in Nairobi announced changes to its visa applications after concerns were raised by Kenyans. Here’s what you should expect:
In a statement dated Monday, July 25, the Embassy introduced three features aimed at expediting the application process while keeping the applicants in the loop the entire time.
The embassy, for instance, said that individual applying for visas will now be able to see interview times until their next appointment after the embassy updated its website.
The page will also show the type of fees that are non-refundable which will leads Kenyans to making better informed decisions before submitting their application and paying the association fees.
The Embassy also instituted a visa renewal process that does not require an in-person interview for certain applicants. Kenyans renewing visitor (B1/B2 category) or student visas (F category) whose visas expired less than one year ago may be eligible to renew without an interview wrote Kenyans.
Expedited appointments for emergency situations, including the death of an immediate family member were introduced that allow the need to travel for urgent medical care, and for students whose program starts in less than 30 days and who will suffer irreparable harm, such as the loss of a scholarship, if they cannot travel.
Applicants had to wait for more than a year since available dates for a visitors visa appointments in Nairobi were set for June 2024.
READ MORE: Why Kenyans visiting the US will face visa delays, they will wait until June 2024 for interviews
The change comes weeks after Kenyans expressed concern following a scandal that involved Kenyan athlete Ferdinand Omanyala. We wrote about it here: Ferdinand Omanyala, Kenyan World athletic champion aims to break Usain Bolt’s record in 100m