A high-ranking US senator has taken a swipe at Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa while in his official duties in the US.

Chair of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, James Risch, noted mounting financial commitments to China while allegedly neglecting obligations to US companies and taxpayers.

In a tweet, Risch said the US could not continue supporting Ghana financially while it serviced larger payments to China.

The senator's criticism was in response to a tweet from the US Bureau of African Affairs upon meeting Ablakwa.

"Instead of a trip to DC, Ghana's foreign minister should focus on honouring his government's commitments to repay US companies and the American taxpayers. We cannot keep subsidising Ghana while it continues paying far larger debts to China."

Ablakwa had met with senior US officials at the State Department for talks centred on strengthening US-Ghana relations, with a particular focus on trade, immigration, and the looming threat of visa sanctions against Ghanaian nationals.

Ghana may currently be in the bad books of the US and is in line for visa sanctions following its inclusion on a US State Department watchlist due to a rising rate of student visa overstays.

The Trump administration may restrict Ghanaians from travelling to the US, along with 35 other nationalities.

In June, Ablakwa indicated US authorities had formally notified the Ghanaian government, citing a 21% student visa overstay rate.

While acknowledging the seriousness of the situation, Ablakwa gave assurances that Ghana was not being grouped with countries facing sanctions for more severe violations such as terrorism.

The Washington Post first reported that a State Department memo was sent to US diplomats who work with the countries.

The countries facing scrutiny in the memo include: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Recently, Togo was among 19 countries slapped with travel restrictions by the Trump administration which has become more critical of immigration.

also reported that the FBI had sounded a caution to Ghanaian and international students currently studying in the US.

The federal law enforcement agency has warned that these students had now become targets for scammers working in the country.

An FBI agent in Seattle told Fox News that scammers were targeting overseas students by exploiting their immigration status for profit.

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Source: YEN.com.gh