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- The US has stopped most visa applications at Harare embassy over high overstay rates.
- Zimbabwe's B1/B2 visa overstay rate is 10.57%, or 709 people.
- Critics say the move will hurt students and global partnerships.
The United States government has temporarily halted visa applications by Zimbabweans at its Harare embassy as part of a bid to curb overstaying.
A notice on the embassy's website stated that the administration of US President Donald Trump had paused all routine visa operations beginning on Thursday, with the exception of most diplomatic and official visas.
"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.
"We are always working to prevent visa overstay and misuse," the notice stated.
According to a memo sent by the US Department of State and seen by Semafor, a senior official highlighted Zimbabwe's B1 and B2 visa overstay rate of 10.57% or 709 Zimbabweans.
The B1 visa is for individuals seeking to enter the US temporarily for business, while the B2 visa is for tourism, pleasure or medical treatment.
The official reportedly also raised concerns about overstay rates on student visas and Zimbabwe not agreeing to a so-called safe third country or third country national agreement that would permit asylum seekers to pursue their claim from a nation they previously travelled to.
Zimbabwe has been reeling under targeted US economic sanctions for the past 20 years. The sanctions were imposed in the early 2000s over human rights violations by the Zanu-PF government.
This pause on US visas at the Harare embassy comes just days after the US government also announced that some foreign citizens could be subject to bonds of up to $15 000 for visits on business or tourist visas.
On Tuesday, Zambia and Malawi were the inaugural entries on a list of countries that would be subject to the bonds.
Political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya described the move by the US as unfair.
Ngwenya said:
We know that Trump is on a cruise in terms of immigration policy, but global relationships are more important. This will really affect the exchange programmes for students.
"This is really a bad move, especially for students, because as Zimbabwe we benefit a lot from global partnership. I believe this thing should be reversed as soon as possible."
"On the other hand, we might be partly to blame because you would realise that when our citizens go to the United States they don't come back. But on this latest move, the US has to be lenient, especially to students," Ngwenya added.