Harvard University international student denied visa in Kenya just days before classes start
International students at Harvard University are scrambling to get their visas before the start of the fall semester in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some have run into last-minute roadblocks.
Repha Uhuru was planning on starting classes at Harvard's Graduate School of Education next week.
She told WBZ-TV that her dream was cut short Monday, July 28, when her visa was denied at the Nairobi Embassy, following an interview that including questions about her finances and martial status.
"I said, 'I'm not married, I'm a widow.' So, the next thing I heard was 'Unfortunately, you are not qualified for the visa this time around,'" Uhuru said.
She said she was given a document that said she didn't show enough ties to her home country of Kenya, despite having a son and family there.
"So, maybe according to them, I was not going to come back to Kenya," she said.
Another Harvard graduate student from Kenya, Magaga Enos, is trying to help Uhuru get to campus. His grandmother sacrificed everything, including her land and cows, to get him to Harvard's Graduate School of Education.
His future was uncertain as President Trump and the university continue to fight it out, but he made it to Cambridge.
"My family is overjoyed. They're so happy, they're celebrating," Enos said. "It's not easy. There is so much of emotions invested in this because there are so many unknowns."
Uhuru has her next visa interview on Tuesday, August 12.
"I'm really hoping for the best," she said.