A Vice Consular at the United States (US) Embassy in Ghana, Mr. Raymond Stephens has cautioned visa applicants who present false documents and tell lies to the embassy to desist from it or would never be issued with US visas throughout their lives.
"One of the biggest problems the embassy faces is fraud. We see a tremendous amount of fake documents everyday and people also lie to us. Out of about 50 people who are interviewed everyday, 30 to 40% tell lies and others also present fake documents," he said.
Such people, he said, undermine the intelligence of the consular staff as well as the US government and cannot be issued with visas to travel because of the lies they told.
He advised visa applicants to tell the truth no matter how difficult it might be.
"We adjudicate visas based on the immigration law. The same law is applied worldwide. Anyone who applies for a visa is assumed to be an immigrant until he's able to convince the consular officer that he's not," he said.
Briefing journalists on the current visa renewal procedure at the embassy in Accra, Consular Stephens said visa applicants whose visas have expired in less than 12 months would no more be required to schedule any appointment to renew their visas again.
"Visitors who wish to travel to the United States will enjoy a relaxed visa renewal policy starting January 5, 2009. Applicants for Non-Immigrant Visas (NIVs) who have been issued a full-validity of a 5-year non-immigrant B1/B2 visa will no longer need to schedule an appointment in order to renew their visa if it less than 12 months expired," he said.
He said for applicants to apply for the renewal of their visas without any appointment, they are expected to meet the criteria of being issued a full-validity of a five-year visa to the US, having a physical possession of the passport with the expired full-validity visa in it and the full-validity visa must be valid or have expired within the last 12 months.
Consular Stephens said applicants who meet the required criteria may bring the passport with the expired visa, a Machine Readable Visa application fee of GH¢150.00, the completed online application form and supporting documents to the Consulate any Monday to Thursday at 1:30pm to apply for a new visa.
The visa application fee can be paid to the embassy's Standard Chartered bank account or the cashier's office at the embassy.
"The first twenty-five applicants daily will be admitted for an interview," he said.
He said applicants currently in position of a valid H1B (temporary worker) and C1/D (transit/crew) visa are also welcome to renew their visa without an appointment following the same criteria.
Commenting on activities of the internet café hired hawkers, Consular Stephens said their activities are not illegal and "we are not in the position to block the website. The US government has not the mechanisms to track down hawkers. What they are doing is not illegal."
He said the embassy wants to improve upon its customer service in dealing with the Ghanaians who want to travel to the US. "We want to help accommodate the traveling public," he said.
A vote for democracy campaign was also introduced by the embassy to challenge the public to create a short video that completes the phrase, "Democracy is..."
The public has been advised to visit the website www.videochallenge.america.gov
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