US announces new visa restrictions for certain South Africans

The United States has announced a new visa restriction policy targeting foreign nationals whom it says are involved in certain laws and policies in South Africa.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the restrictions can apply to individuals that Washington determines to be responsible for, or complicit in, measures enabling what he says are uncompensated land seizures , race-based discrimination or incitement of violence against racial or ethnic minorities.

The South African government has consistently rejected the central premise of Washington’s concerns.

In the latest attack against South Africa, the State Department says Pretoria has failed to adequately address concerns Washington had previously raised.

The US move is expected to further strain relations between the two countries.

The new policy is being implemented in terms of a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows the Secretary of State to prevent a foreign national from entering the United States where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person’s entry or proposed activities would have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the United States.

The policy gives Washington a mechanism to deny visas to specific individuals it determines were involved in enacting or implementing the South African laws or policies covered by the announcement.

Certain immediate family members may also face restrictions, but no individuals have been publicly named as targets so far.

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