On Friday, July 15, 2022, 26-year-old Ferdinand Omanyala, one of Kenya’s greatest sprinters, nearly missed the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, after a mysterious delay in receiving his U.S. visa.
Omanyala applied for his visa at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi with the rest of his teammates on July 7, 2022. Most of Omanyala’s teammates received their visas the following day. However, Omanyala did not obtain his visa until a week after submitting his application for undisclosed reasons.
After numerous flights from Africa to the United States of America, Omanyala landed in Eugene, Oregon, three hours before his first race of the World Athletics Championships. He qualified for the semifinals but could not make it to the finals. For Omanyala, this subpar performance might have been because of the delay in getting his visa.
Omanyala does not even know the cause of his visa delay. To figure out this unknown reasoning, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations launched an investigation of Omanyala’s visa delay.
Several Kenyan sports officials accused Omanyala of not completing his visa application before submitting it to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. Marcel Viljoen, Omanyala’s manager, explained why he believes these sports officials are wrong with these words, “Ferdinand is accustomed to the process, and … knows the implications of leaving out information.” Similarly, Omanyala also believes he filled out the application with all the necessary information.
Immediately after his unpleasant travel experience before the World Athletics Championships, he planned to travel to Birmingham, England, for another sprinting meet. Before leaving Eugene, Oregon, Ommanyala remarked, “I hope … I get there early.”
Omanyala’s visa delay caused an outcry across Africa, where travel to the United States is challenging. African athletes and citizens have long faced trouble getting U.S. visas in a timely fashion.
After nearly missing the World Athletics Championships due to a visa delay, Omanyala stated with support from many other travelers seeking U.S. visas, “It’s … disappointing. I know [America is] hosting the Olympics in 2028, so I … hope they learn from this and do much better next time.”
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658069023865x991502925473258400/Ferdinand%20Omanyala%20visa%20delay_%20Outcry%20after%20top%20Kenyan%20sprinter%20nearly%20misses%20championships%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/77320-omanyala-visa-saga-dci-goes-after-top-govt-officials
Omanyala applied for his visa at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi with the rest of his teammates on July 7, 2022. Most of Omanyala’s teammates received their visas the following day. However, Omanyala did not obtain his visa until a week after submitting his application for undisclosed reasons.
After numerous flights from Africa to the United States of America, Omanyala landed in Eugene, Oregon, three hours before his first race of the World Athletics Championships. He qualified for the semifinals but could not make it to the finals. For Omanyala, this subpar performance might have been because of the delay in getting his visa.
Omanyala does not even know the cause of his visa delay. To figure out this unknown reasoning, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations launched an investigation of Omanyala’s visa delay.
Several Kenyan sports officials accused Omanyala of not completing his visa application before submitting it to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. Marcel Viljoen, Omanyala’s manager, explained why he believes these sports officials are wrong with these words, “Ferdinand is accustomed to the process, and … knows the implications of leaving out information.” Similarly, Omanyala also believes he filled out the application with all the necessary information.
Immediately after his unpleasant travel experience before the World Athletics Championships, he planned to travel to Birmingham, England, for another sprinting meet. Before leaving Eugene, Oregon, Ommanyala remarked, “I hope … I get there early.”
Omanyala’s visa delay caused an outcry across Africa, where travel to the United States is challenging. African athletes and citizens have long faced trouble getting U.S. visas in a timely fashion.
After nearly missing the World Athletics Championships due to a visa delay, Omanyala stated with support from many other travelers seeking U.S. visas, “It’s … disappointing. I know [America is] hosting the Olympics in 2028, so I … hope they learn from this and do much better next time.”
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658069023865x991502925473258400/Ferdinand%20Omanyala%20visa%20delay_%20Outcry%20after%20top%20Kenyan%20sprinter%20nearly%20misses%20championships%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/77320-omanyala-visa-saga-dci-goes-after-top-govt-officials
