Since the pandemic began, the Visa system has become chaotic with delays of Visas stretching into months. The public were angry enough about these delays, but then Kenyan sprinter, Ferdinand Omanyala nearly missed his race because of Visa delays which sent an outcry over the Visa system. Some Nigerian racers couldn’t even make it to the race and had to pull out of the race because their Visas didn’t come in time. The race he attended was the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The World Athletics Championships are the most important race for a runner after the Olympics. He applied for a Visa with the rest of his team on July 7 and most of his teammates got their Visas the next day, but Omanyala got his Visa only a day before the race. He scrambled to America just in time for the race and qualified for the semi-finals with a time of 10.10 seconds which was pitiful compared to his season best 9.85 seconds and got knocked out in the semi-finals.

Many people were outraged by the Visa delays for many reasons and blamed that Omanyala didn’t make it into the finals because he was rushed. In 2020 the State Department announced that all Visas would be suspended, a move that has affected countless people seeking refuge and people who aren’t American citizens but have their homes in America. Another reason is because the State department delays these African countries because of their high number of COVID-19 cases. Because of the cases the average wait time is 3.5 times longer than someone from London.

Though this is definitely a Visa problem is going to stabilize, when? Monkeypox is becoming a concern, and will this affect Visas once more? This may be in effect for many years to come and the 2028 Olympics will be held in America and this delay may lead to many people now showing up to the Olympics. This problem may never stop, maybe we just have to get used to it.