US Embassy Cuts Waiting Period for Kenyan Visa Applicants

The visa interview waiting period for Kenyans looking to visit the United States has been reduced by five months.

This is after the US Embassy in Nairobi allowed for the renewal of some visa categories without going for physical appointments, Business Daily reports.

As a result, Kenyans applying for American visas can now get an interview appointment early as January next year, compared to a date of June 2024 previously before the latest review.

The move comes barely seven months after the US embassy in Nairobi expanded the Interview Waiver Program for non-immigrant visas in a move aimed at clearing a backlog of applications.

The embassy said Kenyans seeking to renew their tourist, business, student, or crew US visas would no longer be subjected to interviews.

"Effective immediately, those applying for tourist/business (B1/B2), student (F, J, M), or crew visas (C1/D) categories may be eligible for a visa renewal without an interview," the Embassy said in a statement.

To qualify for this program, one must be applying for the same visa category, and the visa should not have expired more than four years ago. Initially, the limit was capped at one year.  

The Nairobi embassy has been grappling with a backlog of visa applications after processing was halted in 2020 as part of safety measures following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It restarted interviews at full capacity in February 2022 and has doubled the number of daily interviews and hired additional staff to address the backlog.

Expedited appointments are made for emergency situations such as the death of an immediate family member, the need to travel for urgent medical care, and students whose program begins in less than 30 days.