The United States Embassy in Nigeria has said it was expanding its services to help qualified non-immigrant visa applicants.
The embassy stated that it commenced a visa interview waiver programme with the pilot project commencing for applicants at the US Consulate in Lagos.
While speaking during a recent press conference at the US Consulate in Lagos, the US Mission Country Consular Coordinator, Susan Tuller, made it known that the project was no-interview visa renewals.
Tuller said it would be limited initially and would apply only to applicants for academic exchange, work, study and tourist visas seeking renewal.
According to Tuller, every eligible applicant must possess a previous visa that expired within the last 24 months or will expire three months from the date of application.
She said: “This is not a non-immigrant visa interview waiver process known as the ‘dropbox.’ The new application procedure will begin in February at the U.S. Consulate in Lagos and will be extended shortly thereafter to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja. The number of qualified applicants who can apply using the new procedures will be limited initially. Applicants who meet the criteria may apply in Lagos until the service is extended to Abuja. ”
She revealed that the ‘drop box’ system didn’t achieve its goals due to the fact that it was fraught with “fraud, high overstay rates” while the consular unit aimed at strengthening “border security, productivity and customer service.”
It should be recalled that the embassy indefinitely suspended interview waivers for renewals, otherwise known as the ‘Dropbox’ process on May 14, 2019.
The embassy insisted then that applicants seeking a non-immigrant visa to the US in Nigeria must apply online and would need to appear in person at the US Embassy in Abuja or US Consulate General in Lagos to submit their application for review.
