Editorial: US Embassy In Accra Has Spoken, But Ghanaians Won’t Listen – Sad!

Due to the harsh economic situation in Ghana and Africa as a whole, the desire of most of her citizens is to move either to Europe, United States of America, Canada or Australia to seek for greener pastures. As a result of this crazy eager-to-travel mentality, a section of Ghanaians even sell property they have struggled to acquire in life – just to enable them travel to these advanced countries.

Unfortunately, most of them end up being scammed by people The Chronicle will describe as ‘master brains.’ Master brains – yes, because they use their brains to outwit sometimes people who are well educated than them. Remember most of these scammers or fraudsters do not even have Senior High School certificates.

Regrettably, though our courts are replete with some of these fraud stories, because the minds of these would-be travellers have been pre-occupied by the wrong notion of making it in life only in Europe, they turn to overlook the reality on the ground. They easily fall victims to sugar quoted words they are bombarded with by the scammers.

The Chronicle does not, for instance, understand why a Ghanaian will sell his or her property worth GHS500, 000 just to travel abroad. Meanwhile GHS500, 000 if well invested here in Ghana, can change the fortunes of the person who thinks that money is a low hanging fruit anyone can pluck on the streets of London or New York.

As a matter of fact, the activities of ‘connection men’ are ruining lives in this country, but as we earlier indicated, the desire for people to travel in the midst of these clear dangers has clouded their sense of judgement. The Chronicle is, therefore, happy with the warning from the US Embassy in Accra that one does not need these ‘connection men’ when applying for visas.

According to a report carried by graphiconline.com yesterday, the United States Embassy in Ghana has cautioned Ghanaians against using visa “fixers” or connection men, stressing that no individual or agent can guarantee entry into the United States.

In a post shared on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, as reported  by graphiconline.com, the Embassy emphasised that visa applications can and should be made directly through the official U.S. visa portal, without any additional cost or third-party interference.

“We wish to emphasise that you do not need the services of a fixer or visa consultant to apply for a U.S. visa! This can be done directly through our official website at no extra cost. It is important to note that no fixer or consultant can guarantee a visa. Any such promises are deceptive and intended to defraud you!” the Embassy stated.

The post, the graphic report continued, also carried a stark warning: “Lying or providing fake documents can lead to a permanent ban on travel to the United States.”This statement from the US Embassy encapsulates our position on the matter, but trust the Ghanaian to still be relying on ‘connection men’ to acquire visas for them when this so-called middle men do not have any access to the Embassy. They (connection men) seem to be taking advantage of the vulnerability of the visa seekers to defraud them.

Though the courts have been handing down sentences on these criminals masquerading as middle men for visa seekers, it has still not helped to stop the crime. The Chronicle is, therefore, appealing to all religious leaders in the country to educate their members about the need to go through the right channels when applying for visas to help stem the tide.

Already, a leaked memo reportedly from the U.S. State Department and allegedly signed by Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, lists Ghana among several nations under scrutiny for allegedly failing to provide adequate cooperation in verifying the identities of visa applicants or for having high numbers of citizens who violate U.S. immigration rules.

According to the alleged memo, the  State Department has warned Ghana and others  countries who have been caught in this web to comply with new standards within 60 days  or risk facing travel bans, visa restrictions or other punitive measures.

If this memo is actually coming from the US government, it means that activities of these unscrupulous ‘connection men’ are denying the opportunity of those who are following the law, the right to enter the US, which in our view, is not fair.

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