Ghanaian actress and media personality, Nana Ama McBrown, has publicly appealed to the United States Embassy in Ghana to lift the visa ban imposed on her over two decades ago.

The actress revealed in March 2023 that she was deported and banned from entering the United States in 2001 after an unsuccessful attempt by her uncle, Papa Kofi McBrown, to take her there due to her talents.

In a heartfelt interview with renowned broadcaster Bola Ray, McBrown expressed remorse for the past incident and pleaded with the US authorities to review her case. “I’ll beg them to please reconsider me, look at my records, I am not a bad person. I’ve never been a bad person because I really know what I’ve done, and I want to correct it,” she stated.

McBrown also highlighted the fear and anxiety that often accompany visa applications for many Ghanaians.

She described how the pressure to secure a visa often leads applicants to misrepresent themselves. “This thing about Ghanaians. When we are going to the embassy, we are very scared. We start shaking, and for that matter, we keep lying. Sometimes we feel like when we see a White person and we don’t get the visa, we are going to die or the person will kill us. Because of that, we always keep losing or missing our chances,” McBrown explained.

However, the actress noted that times have changed and urged her fellow citizens to be honest in their visa applications. “Now, if you’re going to the embassy, things have changed. Our details, fingerprints, everything is there. So we should do things right.”

McBrown advised, “I will say to everybody: go genuinely. Because the records will be there forever. And if you keep lying, it will go against you.”