US Embassy spoils the F.A.C.E List fun for me!

A couple of weeks ago, I was torn between two cities with New York and Yenogoa staring right at me. I had been invited to attend the Fascinating Africans Committed to Excellence (F.A.C.E) List Awards in the US and the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in Bayelsa State, Nigeria and both were happening on the same weekend.  After paying my US visa fee and some extra bucks to some young dude to get me an interview date at the US Embassy that would suit my travelling plans, US was definitely on my mind as I waited to see the Big Apple for the first time.

Since my visa to the US was not automatic, I wanted to first go for the interview so that in the ‘rare’ case that I am denied, I would just ‘settle’ for the AMAA in Nigeria. To my dismay, the Ghana rep for AMAA gave me a call on the Saturday before the Wednesday that I had my interview at US Embassy. She was compiling the list of names for the Ghanaian entourage to Nigeria and that Saturday was the deadline. Bummer! I explained that I have appoint at the US embassy and if I got the US visa, I wouldn’t be able to go and so I couldn’t assure her that if she got me a ticket it wouldn’t go to waste. In effect, I had to choose between a potential trip to New York and a guaranteed trip to Bayelsa. Being the African that I am, I opted to take my chances with far… far… America!

So finally Wednesday arrived and needless to say, I was on time at the US Embassy for my interview. I submitted my forms and waited to be called for the next stage of the process. Then came the biometric check, and my fingers went through the mill. I moved to the next stage, the final stage where my ‘fate’ would be determined. I provided my documents to support my application and answered a bunch of questions from the little window that separated me and the interviewer. I answered the questions one by one with cool nerves and I said to myself “I have this white dude won over”.

After a few minutes of standing idle and consulting his computer, the interviewer started a sorry excuse that the US immigration laws are very strict and that currently he is unable to grant me entry into the US. At that moment I asked myself do I look like a terrorist. I had no long beard nor bore a Muslim name; I looked like a plain nerd in my big spectacles, clean shave and low cut. He went on to say that he would give me a letter to explain further why he couldn’t grant me a visa to the US.

With that said, there was no point hanging around; I grabbed my supporting documents and the letter from the Consular Affairs and left the building a little disappointed.  When I sat in the taxi, I finally read the infamous letter explaining why my first attempt to enter the US was futile.  To my utter dismay, I realized that I had been ‘punked’ by the US Embassy. The letter I received was a generic  letter given to everyone that they turn down and so I couldn’t find a specific reason for my case. The letter said that I was perhaps turned down either because I didn’t have sufficient funds for the trip, or didn’t have family in the US or my supporting documents were not adequate.

I knew it couldn’t be due to insufficient funds because I was not paying for the trip or for my boarding. Face2Face Africa, the organizers of the ceremony in New York were footing the bill and Arik Air, sponsors for the event were taking care of my air ticket. And just in case that was not enough proof, I added my bank statement from the last three months to it. Well I may not be Perez Hilton but I am hard working and I have been able to accumulate some money over the period that should be enough to take care of a trip from Ghana to the US and back.  It couldn’t be because I didn’t have close family in the US either because I didn’t need to have family there since I was only visiting for a week on a sponsored trip and didn’t need any contact with family in the US anyway. And it shouldn’t be due to a lack of proper documentation because I had an introduction letter and invitation letter from Africa2Africa to support my application.

By the way why does the US Embassy charge $140 for a visa fee? I thought this amount is to cover cost of processing which should include all the background checks on applicants. . Although the letters I sent to the embassy had the address and contact details of africa2Africa, the company was not contacted at any point in the application process. So what background checks were done? Obviously they didn’t even use Google, guess I’d definitely pop up!  (Laugh out loud!)

Anyway, with my fate sealed with the US trip, the next thing I did immediately was to call the AMAA Ghana rep to find out if the list for the Ghanaian delegation had been finalized. To my disappointment, she answered in the affirmative, and yes I cursed America for spoiling it for me. To think that a few days ago, I had tickets to two of the hottest events on the African entertainment front and now I had nothing was a painful pill to swallow for an ambassador of African showbiz like me! Perhaps I should blame it all on myself and an unnecessary desire to visit US like every other African.

However, when it seemed like it was all done and over, I received a call from somewhere that would soon change the disappointment. Stay tuned!