New Delhi: Miss Universe Zimbabwe Roseanna Hall’s participation in the 75th Miss Universe pageant remains uncertain as she continues to face delays in obtaining a US visa.
Hall is set to represent Zimbabwe at the global beauty pageant, where the winner will be crowned on 24 November. However, she has still not received the visa required to travel to Puerto Rico, where the event is being held.
“I was meant to leave for Puerto Rico to represent Zimbabwe at the 75th Miss Universe. Unfortunately, American visa challenges have delayed that journey, but the fight is not over”, she posted on her Instagram account.
Hall’s visa delay comes after the US government introduced additional travel restrictions affecting citizens of several countries, including Zimbabwe. According to the US Department of State, these restrictions apply to B-1 and B-2 visitor visas, F, M and J student and exchange visitor visas, as well as immigrant visas, with certain exceptions.
“We have been back and forth, trying to get my visa,” Hall added, elaborating on her efforts to secure the visa in her video message.
Hall is not the only African contestant facing visa-related challenges. Zimbabwe is one of 19 countries facing partial US travel restrictions under Presidential Proclamation 10998, which came into effect on 1 January.
Several other African countries are also affected by the US travel restrictions, including Zambia, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Angola and Senegal.
“Thank you to the Zimbabwean government, the Miss Universe Zimbabwe organisation and board, who are working tirelessly behind the scenes”, Hall said, adding that the government and her team are still trying to get the visa.
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‘Situation linked to presidential travel restriction’
Zambia has withdrawn its contestant, Pamela Mubanga, from the competition due to US travel restrictions.
In a statement, the Miss Universe organisation in Zambia said Mubanga’s situation was linked to the travel restrictions and not to any personal issues.
“Unlike situations where a contestant’s visa is denied due to personal circumstances, documentation or organisational challenges, Mubanga’s situation is linked to the United States’ presidential travel restriction affecting Zambia and other African countries,” the statement reads, as reported by the BBC.
Hall added that she understood the concerns among the contestants and countries, and she herself had spent the past few weeks in South Africa trying to get her visa.
“I am not alone in this predicament. Some of my African sisters are facing the same predicament, and I know exactly what they are going through,” she said.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)