Over 21 per cent of Ghanaians with Student Visa status have overstayed their stipulated visa period in the United States of America (USA) but refused to return to Ghana, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has disclosed. 

Addressing the press in Accra last Thursday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the figure exceeded the 15 per cent threshold stipulated by the US government to be considered, hence its decision to place a travel ban on Ghana.

He said in addition to students overstaying, seven per cent of Ghanaians on Tourist Visas in the US have also overstayed their visa period, making Ghana one of the countries with a high rate of overstaying and abusers of the immigration laws of the US.

Mr Ablakwa explained that the travel ban formed part of an expanded view of President Donald Trump’s administration to review the visa requirements, with some 12 new criteria.

“The ban, according to US officials, will affect countries not complying with some 12 criteria that they have outlined. Those 12 criteria cut across a wide array of matters of concern to US authorities, including terrorism, countries that fund terrorism and states that sponsor terrorism. It includes countries that have become places for violent extremists to operate.

“They are also talking about countries not cooperating with the ongoing deportations by the Trump administration and there are issues to do with overstaying,” he said. 

Assurance

The Minister said the MFA had held a series of meetings with the US authorities in the country to address the issues and ensure that Ghana was taken off the list of countries earmarked to be issued a travel ban.

“My assurance to the good people of Ghana is that we are engaging with US authorities.

We take the view that Ghana's area of concern, which has to do with overstaying, is not a condition that should put us in the category of some of the countries, particularly those who are funding terrorism and who are harboring terrorists, violent extremists, criminals and those who are not cooperating with the US government with deportations.

“We are engaging them and more meetings are scheduled with the State Department and the White House.

We are quite optimistic that our longstanding, fruitful, enduring, very fraternal bilateral relations with the US will be taken into consideration,” Mr Ablakwa said.

Advice

Mr Ablakwa also advised visa applicants to stay within the terms of their visas and respect US immigration laws and all countries they had applied to.

"Respect the immigration laws of all countries just as we expect that when nationals of other countries are issued Ghanaian visas, they will comply with the terms. In recent times, we have also been moving people who are in violation of our laws and have overstayed their welcome.

"So, every country deserves the right to carry on these interventions that we are doing," he said.

The Minister appealed to Ghanaians, particularly students, to respect the visa term given to them during a successful application.

He also urged Ghanaians travelling to other countries to make it a point to always register their presence in that country with Ghanaian missions in those countries to help with monitoring and swift responses during emergencies. 

Deportation and FBI arrests

Mr Ablakwa also indicated that 56 out of 188 Ghanaians on the US deportation list had successfully returned home, with others currently undergoing the process.

He said, although the Ghanaian government was not against the deportation as it was within the right of the US government to do so, it called for humane treatment for the deportees.

The Minister also confirmed that the MFA and government at large, in the spirit of their longstanding cooperation with the US government, collaborated in the arrest and extradition of some suspects involved in a $100 million scam.