Ferdinand Omanyala was afraid he couldn’t compete in this week’s World Athletics Championships, the most significant sports event after the Olympics. The record holder from Kenya left on Monday, so he had 5 days to settle into America, but on Friday, with less than a day left before the event, he had yet to receive a U.S visa. He finally received the document only hours before the race begun.
Omanyala’s delay caused an outrage on social media. Kenyans were also sharing stories about how their visas were delayed and they said that America was “deliberately” delaying their visas so they wouldn’t defeat their American competitors.
“Visa records are confidential by law,” Andrew Veveiros, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, wrote in a WhatsApp message to The Post on Saturday. “Therefore, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases.” In this case, U.S. authorities may not be at fault of the delays in visas.
Omanyala finished his first round in third place, at 10.10 seconds, a bit short of his season-best time of 9.85, but fast enough to advance him to the semifinals, which was unfortunately, where his effort fell short, and he was eliminated.
Omanyala isn’t the only Kenyan young person to be delayed in receiving his visa. In this country, there is an organization called the “Kenya Airlift Program which helps students’ study in the USA and find a stable job in the U.S. “Dennis Kiogora, a founder of the Kenya Airlift Program said most students in his program could not secure visas ahead of a September start date. “It is a huge crisis for us because we have so many bright students who have already been admitted to universities in the U.S.,” he said. “Most students who are supposed to report in September have [visa] appointment dates in 2023.”
However, despite the delay and Omanyala not making it to the finals, he was already moving on, and planning meets in other places. He planned to fly to Birmingham, England for another meet straight form the USA.
Link to Article: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658069023865x991502925473258400/Ferdinand%20Omanyala%20visa%20delay_%20Outcry%20after%20top%20Kenyan%20sprinter%20nearly%20misses%20championships%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
Omanyala’s delay caused an outrage on social media. Kenyans were also sharing stories about how their visas were delayed and they said that America was “deliberately” delaying their visas so they wouldn’t defeat their American competitors.
“Visa records are confidential by law,” Andrew Veveiros, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, wrote in a WhatsApp message to The Post on Saturday. “Therefore, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases.” In this case, U.S. authorities may not be at fault of the delays in visas.
Omanyala finished his first round in third place, at 10.10 seconds, a bit short of his season-best time of 9.85, but fast enough to advance him to the semifinals, which was unfortunately, where his effort fell short, and he was eliminated.
Omanyala isn’t the only Kenyan young person to be delayed in receiving his visa. In this country, there is an organization called the “Kenya Airlift Program which helps students’ study in the USA and find a stable job in the U.S. “Dennis Kiogora, a founder of the Kenya Airlift Program said most students in his program could not secure visas ahead of a September start date. “It is a huge crisis for us because we have so many bright students who have already been admitted to universities in the U.S.,” he said. “Most students who are supposed to report in September have [visa] appointment dates in 2023.”
However, despite the delay and Omanyala not making it to the finals, he was already moving on, and planning meets in other places. He planned to fly to Birmingham, England for another meet straight form the USA.
Link to Article: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658069023865x991502925473258400/Ferdinand%20Omanyala%20visa%20delay_%20Outcry%20after%20top%20Kenyan%20sprinter%20nearly%20misses%20championships%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
