The United States has announced a pause on all routine visa applications for citizens of Zimbabwe, the latest restriction on travellers from Africa.
The State Department said on Thursday that the US Embassy in Zimbabwe would pause all routine visa services starting Friday “while we address concerns with the Government of Zimbabwe”.
It came days after the US unveiled a pilot project requiring citizens of two other African countries, Malawi and Zambia, to pay a bond of up to $15,000 for tourist or business visas. The bond will be forfeited if the applicant stays in the US after their visa expires.
The embassy described the measure on Zimbabwe as temporary and part of the Trump administration's efforts to “prevent visa overstay and misuse.” Most diplomatic and official visas would be exempt from the pause, the US said.
Travel restrictions
The US has enforced new travel restrictions on citizens from several African countries under President Donald Trump's broader immigration enforcement policies, while pressuring African countries to accept deportees from the US who are not their nationals.
In June, the US put in place travel bans on citizens from 12 countries, seven of them in Africa. It applied heightened restrictions on seven other nations, three of them African. The US has also demanded that 36 countries, the majority of them in Africa, improve their vetting of travellers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States.
Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia were all on that list of 36 countries asked to improve their citizens’ travel documentation and take steps to address the status of their nationals who are in the US illegally.
“The Trump Administration is protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process," the U.S. State Department said Thursday.
Bonds for visa
The new bond policy announced on Tuesday requires Malawians and Zambians to pay bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or 15,000 as part of their application for a tourist or business visa to the U.S.
Under the programme, citizens of those countries must also arrive and depart at one of three airports: Boston’s Logan International Airport, New York's JFK International Airport or Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C.
The visa bond pilot program will start on Aug. 20, the State Department said.
