USA ZAMBIA VISA: ‘It’s Not a Ban — You Just Can’t Afford It’!
…’all you need is K400,000 refundable if you don’t over-stay in USA, you er in’
Amb. By Anthony Mukwita wrote on Sunday
Lusaka, Zambia — 18| October 2026
“So asking a Zambian to deposit $20,000 for a certain category Visa to the USA, about K400,000 is like asking a ‘kantemba’ trader selling eggs to book a suite at the Waldorf Astoria or the Grand Hyatt, technically possible, spiritually hilarious.” A. Mukwita 2026.
Zambians are laughing through their tears over what many call a “travel ban” to the United States, but let us be honest, it is not a ban, it is a ‘diplomatic comedy of economics.’
Uncle Sam did not shut the door; he simply raised the price of entry to the “land of milk and honey.” At the start of 2026, Washington introduced a $20,000 (almost K400,000) refundable visa deposit for ‘certain visitors’ from developing nations such as Zambia as long as you return home.
Add rigorous medical tests, police finger-prints, and character witnesses, and suddenly the American dream looks more like a marathon through bureaucracy.
According to the World Bank, Zambia’s GDP per capita stands around $1,831, and the average daily income hovers near $1.50 per day means K390, 000 deposit for your visa refundable fee, a teacher earns less than K8, 000 in Zambia.
“So asking a Zambian to deposit $20,000 for a Visa, almost K400,000 is like asking a kantemba trader selling eggs to book a suite at the Waldorf Astoria or the Taj, technically possible, spiritually hilarious.” A. Mukwita 2026.
Uncle Sam’s move isn’t punishment; it’s a mirror. It says without saying, “Fix your economy before you fix your itinerary.”
Zambia earns billions from copper yet borrows billions more, much more, $1.5 billion just last week.
If Lusaka taxed foreign mine owners properly, fairly, it could rake in over $7 billion annually, enough to fund health, education, and maybe a few Waldorf and Taj Pamodzi dinners without begging for aid.
BACK HOME CONTRAST TO THE ‘BLESSERS’
If you cannot run a kantemba selling eggs in Lusaka, what exactly will you do in Los Angeles — a city where over 650,000 people are homeless, many veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
The irony bites: America’s streets of gold are paved with cardboard beds. Nigeria and Kenya face similar dilemmas — tightened visa scrutiny, higher deposits, and stricter documentation. It’s not discrimination; it’s diplomacy with a calculator. It doesn’t matter what you give.
As the Spanish say, “El que presta, manda; el que pide, obedece.” And the Bible agrees: “The borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).
So, dear Zambia, do not cry to Uncle Sam — thank him for reminding us to build our own “land of milk and honey.” Let us tax our mines fairly, grow our economy, and maybe one day dine at the Waldorf Astoria and Adlon Kempiski without needing a deposit.
Until then, we love you, Uncle Sam — even if your dinner invitation costs twenty grand. Almost K400, 000 for a Zambian that cannot afford K32 per lire petrol.
Happy prayers folks.
Daily Nation Zambia Zambia Daily Mail Daily Revelation Newspaper
AM.18.10.26 😂