Kenyans intent on travelling to the United States have to wait until June 2024 to secure an appointment for a visitor’s visa after the US embassy in Nairobi said all the other dates have been booked.

In a statement posted on its website, the embassy told applicants, to expect delays in most stages of visa processing.

It explained that the interruptions in the issuance of the visas was caused by a significant backlog of applications resulting from closures due to Covid-19.

“The next available dates for a visitor visa appointment in Nairobi are in June 2024. US Embassy Nairobi recognises the significant challenges and frustrations this poses for Kenyans planning to visit the United States,” reads the statement.

Due to the Covid-19 health and safety measures, the embassy said, non-migrant visa interviews at the Nairobi office ceased for over an year and interviews only restarted at full capacity in February.

It noted that since resuming operations, the mission in Nairobi had doubled the number of daily interventions adding that they would continue to add more staff and increase capacity over time.

“As we work through the backlog of the applications and address the high demand for services, we recognise that some applicants may face extended visa interviews wait timers. This is a worldwide problem that the US embassies are diligently striving to address,” the statement adds.

The US State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs says the average waiting period for a US visitor visa appointment in Nairobi is 687 days — more than 3.5 times the average wait time for a US traveller visa in London.

The statement by the embassy comes a week after members of Kenya’s team to the just ended World athletics championships in Oregon, US almost missed the games because of visa challenges.

Top athletes and officials had not been issued with their visas hours to the start of the world athletics championships.

A source told People Daily that the American embassy had refused to issue extra visas after it emerged the list given by the ministry of Sports had exceeded the 80 that was approved by Athletics Kenya (AK).

Instead, the ministry forwarded a list of 112, which included 32 individuals not known to the athletics body. Among those left out but later travelled included top sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala.

  The embassy said it was aware many visa applicants had paid the visa application-processing fee and were waiting to schedule a visa appointment and thus were speeding up the process.

Non-refundable

 In the meantime, the embassy noted it had extended the validity of the payment (known as the MRV fee) until September 30, 2023, to allow all applicants who were unable to schedule a visa appointment an opportunity to schedule and attend a visa appointment with the already-paid fee.

 “The current wait time for visitor (B1/B2) and student (F/J/M) visa interview appointments is currently over eighteen months. Visa appointment fees are non-refundable, so you should carefully consider the interview wait time when deciding whether to pursue an appointment,” adds the statement

 The embassy has, however, announced new interview waivers for visa renewals noting that visitor or student visa (B1/B2, F1, F2, J1, J2, M1, M2) is still valid, or expired less than one year ago, are eligible for renewal without an in-person interview.

 In addition, it also clarified that in case of emergency appointments, the embassy would consider prioritising such requests.