It came days after the US unveiled a pilot project requiring citizens of two other African countries, Malawi and Zambia, to pay a bond of up to USD 15,000 for tourist or business visas. The bond will be forfeited if the applicant stays in the US after their visa expires. The State Department said the US Embassy in Zimbabwe would pause all routine visa services, starting Friday “while we address concerns with the Government of Zimbabwe”. The embassy described the measure as temporary and part of the Trump administration’s efforts to “prevent visa overstay and misuse”. Most diplomatic and official visas would be exempt from the pause, the US said.

The US has enforced new travel restrictions on citizens from several African countries under President Donald Trump’s broader immigration enforcement policies. In June, the US put in place travel bans on citizens from 12 countries, seven of them in Africa. It applied heightened restrictions on seven other nations, three of them African. The US has also demanded that 36 countries, the majority of them in Africa, improve their vetting of travellers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States.

Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia were all on that list of 36 countries asked to improve their citizens’ travel documentation and take steps to address the status of their nationals who are in the US illegally. “The Trump Administration is protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process,” the US State Department said Thursday.  (Jamaica Gleaner)