The Embassy of the United States of America in Ghana has lifted the visa restrictions the American government imposed on Ghana under its Immigration and Nationality Act.

A statement issued by the Embassy on Thursday 16 January 2020, said visa processing will return to the normal procedures on Friday, 17 January 2020.

It said: “The US has lifted the visa restrictions applied under section 243 (d) of the US’ Immigration and National Act as of Friday, 17 January 2020”, adding: “Visa processing will return to the normal procedures”.

The US imposed the sanctions in February last year after Ghana refused to accept the return of some 7,000 Ghanaian nationals that it wanted to deport.

The US embassy in Accra, from that time, limited the awarding of visas to certain applicants, such as the domestic staff of diplomats posted to America.

The sanctions were open to expansion to include other categories if the issue was not resolved, US officials warned at the time.

In 2018, Ghana questioned the deportees' nationality and treatment.

The US accused the 7,000 deportees of being guilty of immigration offences, including abusing the terms of their visas.

Ghana’s ambassador to the US, Baffour Adjei-Bawuah, at the time, said a deal had been reached over the matter.