Kenyans seeking to visit the United States will have to wait until June 2024 as, owing to high demand, no appointments for visa interviews are being issued.
“Currently, the first available dates for a visitor visa appointment in Nairobi are in June 2024. U.S. Embassy Nairobi recognizes the significant challenges and frustrations this poses for Kenyans planning to visit the United States for business and tourism,” the embassy said in a statement on Monday.
The embassy added that due to Covid-19 health and safety measures, non-immigrant visa interviews at the US Embassy in Nairobi had ceased for over a year.
“As we work through the backlog of applications and address the high demand for services, we recognize that some applicants may face extended visa interview wait times. This is a worldwide problem that US embassies are diligently striving to address.”
It added that since resuming operations, it had doubled the number of daily interviews and that it will add more staff and increase capacity over time.
“We 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.”
The embassy will also expedite appointments for emergency situations, including the death of an immediate family member, the need to travel for urgent medical care, and for students whose programme starts in less than 30 days and who will suffer irreparable harm, such as loss of a scholarship, if they cannot travel.
The statement comes days after Ferdinand Omanyala, 26, known as Africa’s fastest man, nearly missed competing in last week’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
The African record holder, one of the fastest sprinters of all time, was supposed to fly to the US a week before the races, giving him five days to settle in before his first 100-metre race.
But with barely a day left to make the Friday evening start, he had not received his visa, without which he would be barred from a competition that could cement his legacy.
The document arrived a day before the race, and he got in with only a few hours to spare, set to compete with runners who had stepped off a plane days earlier.
Mr Omanyala said he applied for a visa with the rest of the Kenyan team on July 7. The majority of his teammates received their visas the next day, he said.
His visa did not materialise until the eve of the competitions in Oregon, for reasons that remained unclear to him. He faulted the US Embassy for the unexplained delay.
