No US visa without an e-passport – US government says
You will not be able to obtain a US visa without an e-passport. The US embassy in Nairobi has said.
The enforcement comes shortly after the head of public service, Joseph Kinyua banned the use of old passports in traveling to foreign countries. Similarly, the Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, Macharia Kamau last week said that senior government officials will not also get a visa without an e-passport.
“We can only place a US visa in a new passport. You may make an appointment with your current passport but you will need to obtain an e-passport before we can issue a visa,” a spokesperson at the US embassy told the Daily Nation.
The e-passport which was introduced in 2017, was supposed to take full effect in August 31, 2019. However, in December 2018, the Deputy President William Ruto said that the deadline would be postponed to 2020 to give enough time for Kenyans to apply for the e-passport.
The e-passport contains an electronic chip which is meant to prevent travel fraud especially the forging of passports. The East African bloc e-passports have a blue cover which symbolizes Lake Victoria, a feature that is shared by countries in the region.
Plans to issue Kenyans living in London, Paris, Washington DC and Pretoria with an e-passport by the Kenyan government have not been 100% efficient. Some Kenyans have been forced to come back home to apply for the document. As at January, 400, 000 Kenyans had obtained the e-passport.
