Passports and Visas

Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States and is an important global city that attracts visitors from all over the world.  The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area—which includes the District of Columbia and parts of Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia—is America’s sixth-largest metropolis and has a population of 6.3 million people.  Cities within this area (apart from the District of Columbia) include Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church, and Reston—all in Virginia—along with the Maryland towns of Bethesda, College Park, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Silver Spring.  The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area has the second largest population of Ghanaian immigrants in the United States and there are several nonprofit groups representing this community, including the Council of Ghanaian Associations Washington Metro.  Morgan State University (in nearby Baltimore) is helping the Washington, D.C. area establish strong links with Ghana through its recent decision to offer degree programs in Accra, the nation’s capital and most populous city.  Professors from the university will travel to Ghana to teach the courses, allowing Ghanaian students to earn a degree from an American university without having to leave home.   

Philadelphia is the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania and is one of the oldest cities in the United States.  Founded in 1682 by Englishman William Penn, a social reformer and champion of liberty, he named the city Philadelphia using the Greek term meaning “brotherly love”.  Philadelphia has the nickname “City of Brotherly Love” and is nowadays more casually known by locals and non-locals alike as “Philly”.  The Philadelphia metropolitan area has over 6 million people (America’s eighth-largest metropolis) and includes cities and towns in the states of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, in addition to Pennsylvania.  Philadelphia has a large population of West Africans immigrants and there is a neighborhood in the southwest part of the city known as “Little Africa”,  Immigrants from Ghana have been coming to Philadelphia for decades; some Ghanaians come here to attend school at one of the dozens of colleges and universities in the metropolitan area.  Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, came to Philadelphia in 1935 to study at Lincoln University and would later attend graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn).  Coincidentally, Penn is one of only a few universities in the United States that teach Twi—a major language spoken in Ghana.    

Portland is the most populous city in the state of Oregon and the second-most populous city in the Pacific Northwest after Seattle.  The Portland metropolitan area has a population of 2.5 million people and is the 25th most populous metropolis in the United States.  The city is located on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, which meet on the northern end of the Willamette Valley.  The valley stretches for 150 miles between forested mountains containing rich farmland and scenic views.  Over 250 agricultural items are produced here, including award winning wines like pinot noir and hops used in the production of craft beer.  There are a few hundred Ghanaian immigrants living in the Portland area and the city is home to the Ghana Association of Oregon.  Portland hosts the annual Homowo Festival of African Arts in Oregon, which celebrates the traditions and culture of the Ga people of Ghana along with music and dance performances from other West Africans living in Oregon.  Portland’s connections with Ghana flow in both directions: the city has several nonprofit organizations that provide education and health services to rural areas of Ghana, and Portland State University and the University of Oregon (in Eugene, 2 hours away by car) both have study abroad programs in Ghana. 

Thailand is once again opening its doors to foreign visitors with a new Special Tourist Visa designed for the age of COVID-19. The STV program allows visitors to enter the country by September 30, 2021, and stay up to nine months. It also introduces new COVID-19 screening and mandatory 10-day quarantine provisions.

The city of Orlando, located in the Central Florida region of the United States and known as “the City Beautiful”, is ranked as America’s 23rd most-populous city.  The Orlando metropolitan area has a population of 2.6 million people and is home to several theme parks including Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios.  Orlando’s theme parks, natural attractions, and year-round warm weather make it one of the most-visited cities in the world.  The Orlando metropolitan area includes various cities and towns such as Kissimmee, Sanford, Winter Garden, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, and Apopka. While the Ghanaian immigrant community in Orlando is small compared to other East Coast cities, the area has experienced tremendous population growth and is becoming very diverse.  The number of immigrants from Ghana will grow in the years ahead as more people seek out new opportunities and move from other parts of the United States.  Orlando and other parts of the United States should also see an increase in the number of international students from Ghana as their economy continues to expand and Ghanaians have more financial resources to study overseas.  After Nigeria, Ghana sends the most students to the United States from Sub-Saharan Africa.   

Los Angeles is America’s second most populous city after New York.  Greater Los Angeles—which includes Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Ventura County, and Orange County—has a population of nearly 19 million people.  If Greater Los Angeles were its own country, it would be the 15th largest economy in the world (its GDP is more than twice the size of the combined economies of Nigeria and Sierra Leone).  Known for its endless sprawl, Greater Los Angeles is the largest metropolitan region in the United States by land area and includes over 200 cities such as Santa Monica, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Burbank, Long Beach, Carson, Irvine, Anaheim, and Inglewood.  There are a few thousand Ghanaian immigrants living throughout Southern California and Los Angeles is home to the Ghana Association of Southern California.  Los Angeles is also home to the Pan-African Film Festival, which has showcased several films from Ghana and is a great event for Americans interested in learning more about West African cultures.  Los Angeles residents can prepare for their trip to Ghana by sampling the country's cuisine at one of the West African restaurants located in Inglewood. 

Chicago is America’s third-most-populous city and its metropolitan area, known as Chicagoland, has a population approaching 10 million people.  Chicago is a vibrant international city with a robust economy that is the corporate headquarters for 57 Fortune 1000 companies.  While manufacturing and food processing provide a strong foundation for its economy, the city is also an important financial center and is home to the Chicago Stock Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The Chicago metropolitan area covers 14 counties across three states—Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin—and includes cities like Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, Elgin, Waukegan, Cicero, Skokie, Gary (Indiana), and Kenosha (Wisconsin).  Chicago has one of the oldest and largest Ghanaian immigrant communities in the United States and is organized by several nonprofit groups such as the Ghana National Council of Chicago.  Each year this organization hosts Ghanafest, which is the largest event celebrating Ghanaian culture outside of Ghana.  This event not only provides entertainment by bringing some of Ghana’s top artists to Chicago, but also serves as a networking platform for Ghanaian businesses and Americans interested in doing business in Ghana.   

San Diego is America’s 17th-most populous city and is the third-most populous urban area in the state of California.  This metropolis of 3.3 million residents shares a 15-mile border with Mexico, where just to the other side sits Tijuana—Mexico’s sixth-most populous city.  About 200,000 people cross the border each day, making this one of the busiest land borders in the world.  San Diego is well known for its mild Mediterranean climate that attracts over 35 million visitors each year.  This is a beach city that has nearly year-round perfect weather, plenty of scenic vistas, and miles of spectacular beaches including La Jolla Shores, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, Coronado Beach, and Imperial Beach.  The San Diego metropolitan area includes cities such as Carlsbad, Chula Vista, El Cajon, San Marcos, Santee, La Mesa, National City, Oceanside, Vista, and Encinitas.  Nearly a quarter of San Diego residents are immigrants but only about 2% come from Africa.  The population of immigrants from Ghana is very small but they still have a community organized by the Ghanaian Association of San Diego.  The city has ties to Ghana through the University of California, San Diego, which provides its students with unique opportunities for hands-on learning in this West African nation.   

Las Vegas is the largest city in the state of Nevada and located in the Mojave Desert, bordering California and Arizona.  The Las Vegas metropolitan area, known as the Las Vegas Valley, includes Clark County and the cities of North Las Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City, as well as several other unincorporated communities and neighborhoods.  The Las Vegas Valley has a population of 2.3 million people and has been America’s fastest growing city the past decade.  Although Las Vegas ranks only as the 28th-most populous city in the United States, there could be as many as 300,000 tourists visiting the city on any given day.  Las Vegas is known as “America’s Playground” and is one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations, attracting over 42 million visitors a year.  The city also hosts over 20,000 annual conventions, meetings, and trade shows each year.  The population of Ghana immigrants in Las Vegas is small, however, there is a Ghanaian community here that is represented by the Ghana Association of Las Vegas.  Las Vegas also has connections to the country through local church groups that provide health and education services in Ghana.  In 2018 the Nevada governor led a trade mission to Ghana to support Las Vegas-area companies in the gaming and mining industries. 

San Francisco, known as the “City by the Bay”, is one of America’s most famous and beautiful cities.  Located in Northern California, San Francisco is just one of the many cities that together make up the San Francisco Bay Area, or Bay Area for short.  The 14-county combined statistical area (that comprises the Bay Area) has nearly 10 million people, making it the fifth-most populous region in the United States.  The Bay Area includes cities such as Oakland, Hayward, Berkeley, Vallejo, Concord, Pleasanton, Fremont, San Jose, San Mateo, Palo Alto, Sausalito, and San Rafael.  The economy of the Bay Area is one of the most vigorous and entrepreneurial on the planet.  Silicon Valley (in the southern part of the Bay Area) has attracted engineers from all over the world, including those from Ghana and other countries in West Africa who have started their own technology companies.  The Bay Area is one of the best places in America to learn about other cultures because it has so many great community centers and cultural organizations.  For instance, the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts has courses offering West African drumming, music, and dance taught by accomplished artists and instructors from Ghana.  The Bay Area is home to an estimated 1,500 Ghanaian immigrants.