US Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman, has provided an explanation for the high rate of visa denials to the United States of America.
In her statement on Wednesday, Whitman acknowledged that although there have been instances where mistakes were made, the majority of visa denials were justified.
Furthermore, Whitman emphasized the importance of exercising caution in the visa application process due to the significant number of individuals who harbor ill intentions towards the United States.
“We do deny people visas and are we always right? No. But are we mostly right? Yes. Think about it everyone wants to come to America and some bad people want to come to America. Terrorists, money launders, people who have overstayed their visas before, people who have let their Green Card expire and then come back.
“We have to be quite careful because there are people who wish America harm. It is a minority of people but what I always say is you have to be thoughtful,” Whitman said.
Whitman who was responding to a question by an affected Kenyan during an interview with Citizen TV, however, affirmed that they have always been fair in issuing visas.
The Ambassador added that they always try to make sure the right people enter the United States.
“You all remember the 911 hijackers. How would you like to be the Visa officer who let in the 911 hijackers? You would live with that for the rest of your life. We really try to be fair but we are also trying to make sure that the right people who are not ill-intent get to America,” she added.
Ambassador Whitman’s explanation follows complaints from a section of Kenyans over the denial of visas to the US.
