According to the US Embassy in Accra, the waiting period for appointments for nonimmigrant visas has decreased to less than six months.
The US Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Virginia Palmer, made this statement via a taped video.
She said that the embassy is making further efforts to cut it.
"The current wait time for nonimmigrant visa appointments at the US embassy is now less than 6 months. That’s down from nearly two and a half years when I arrived earlier this year. That’s still too long but we are taking steps to continue to reduce wait times, particularly for renewals", she said.
She said that in the previous year, appointments for student visas had grown by 70% and been accelerated.
"We’ve also worked hard to ensure that students get expedited visa appointments before the start of classes this year and we’ve processed a record 7, 000 student visa cases in the last twelve months alone. That is seventy per cent more than our previous record.
"In total, we’ve processed over 32,000 visa applications in the past year. We are continuing to work to reduce the backlog and wait times."
Ghanaian musician Kwame A Plus spearheaded earlier in the year campaign efforts to encourage the embassy to expedite visa applications, notably those seeking spouse visas.
The group cited US immigration regulations that give Americans and their close family members priority when applying for visas.
However, H.E. Palmer’s announcement gave no update about immigrant visas except to say that "reducing wait time for immigrant visas is very much on our minds".
Following applications to the embassy, Ghanaians had to endure protracted visa wait times.
Interviews with candidates were planned to take place for at least two years.
Those who were unable to wait were forced to apply for visas in neighbouring nations like Liberia.