US visa curbs won’t kill the American dream for young Ghanaians

In spite of visa restrictions being imposed on students planning to study in the US, some students in Ghana are still hoping to travel to America for their studies because they believe higher institutions there provide the best environment for learning.

Ghana is once of at least 26 countries to be slapped with new nonimmigrant visa rules meaning that they will only be eligible for single entry, three-month visas to the US – and will have to reapply for a visa each time they want to re-enter the country after this three-month window has closed.

But young Ghanaians are not letting this development stop them from pursuing their dreams of studying in the US.

Mark Awuku Dabah, a fourth-year communications students majoring in journalism at the University of Media, Arts and Communications (UniMAC) in Accra, told The PIE News that he is not worried about the visa restrictions and is looking forward to studying in the US if he gets the opportunity.

“In Ghana, the number of students that attend lectures is so high and it does not create the right atmosphere for studies. In addition, there is very little practical learning to whatever they are studying and so they end up just being lectured without any proper practical training,” Dabah said.

Another student of the same institution – Christabel Amoabeng, who is also in her fourth year – said she will jump at any opportunity to study in the US.

“Apart from all the other attractions that make studies in that country attractive, I also believe that being in a place where people from all over the globe travel to study [offers an} opportunity to forge life-long relationships,” she said.

For Bernard Osei, who has just completed his senior high school, “studying in the US gives you a qualification that is well respected and open doors to you anywhere in the world. My dream is to take all the necessary tests that will qualify me to enter Harvard University to study medicine”. 

My dream is to take all the necessary tests that will qualify me to enter Harvard University to study medicine
^{_{Bernard Osei, student}}

Osei continued: “Each time I hear of people who have passed through Harvard and return to work in Ghana, I just feel like going to be with them to listen to all that they enjoyed in that great university. It is a dream that I have carried all my life, and I hope God will make it come true in my life.”

An email from EducationUSA in Ghana – the advisory network for students planning to travel to the US – pointed to statistics from the US Embassy in Ghana, which said that for the 2023/24 academic year, 9,394 Ghanaians studied in the US. 

“The United States remains the top destination for international students with over one million (1,126,690) international students in academic year 2023/24, which is a 7% increase over the previous year,” the email said.

EducationUSA said the majority of international students study in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, while math and computer science continues to grow as the leading field of study for international students.

According to Open Doors data from 2024, Ghana ranks as the 13th biggest supplier of international students to the US, with a record high of 9,394 Ghanaians heading stateside for their studies in 2023/24.

The Open Doors Report is published annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE), analysing the number of international students in the United States. It said Ghanaians in graduate degree programs totalled 6,337, representing a 54% increase and making Ghana the ninth largest sender globally of graduate students to the United States.