The United States Embassy in Abuja says it will begin processing certain non-immigrant visa renewal applications without requiring an interview starting from March 30, 2022.
THE WILL recalls that the Mission had on Tuesday, February 1, at its Consular section in Lagos, launched the ‘No-Interview Visa Renewals’ process, a new visa application procedure aimed at expanding services to assist non-immigrant visa applicants in Nigeria to qualify to renew their visas.
However, a statement issued on Wednesday by the Embassy’s Senior Public Affairs Specialist, Aishah Gambari, said there would be no interviews for visa renewals where:
“The visa is B1/B2, F, M, J (academic only), H, L, or C1/D (combined only);
“The applicant previously received a U.S. non-immigrant visa that expired within the last 24 months, or will expire in the next three months from the date of application;
“The previous visa was issued in Nigeria; The previous visa was a full validity, multiple entry visa;
“The applicant is applying for the same visa classification as the prior approved visa;
“The applicant has never been arrested or convicted of any crime in the United States (even if they later received a pardon or waiver);
“The applicant has never worked without authorisation or overstayed in the United States; and the applicant has not had any significant life changes.”
The Embassy added, “A parent’s qualifications cannot extend to a child. The child must independently meet each requirement. The number of applicants accepted for the Interview Waiver Program may initially be limited.”
It urged qualified applicants seeking to utilise the no-interview programme to set an appointment for document review online, adding that applicants won’t have access to their passport until completion of processing, which may be up to two months.
The Embassy also said application fees would remain at $160 for non-petition-based non-immigrant visas, and $190 for petition-based non-immigrant visa categories.
Recall that Susan Tuller, the Mission Consular Coordinator, while launching the pilot Program in Lagos last month, had said that it was targeted specifically at students and tourist visas and some work visas that the mission is able to process in Nigeria.
“The pilot programme specifically will significantly increase the opportunities that Nigerians will have to apply to renew a visa if they’ve already been issued a US visa in the past and they meet the criteria for eligibility.
“And this programme is one of our continuing efforts that we’ve been making for the past year since we were closed for a short period at the beginning of the pandemic to increase the consular services that we provide to both Nigerians and Americans living in Nigeria despite the ongoing challenges that we continue to face as a result of the pandemic.
“The good news is that our consular sections in Lagos and Abuja have been fully opened for services for over a year now and we’ve been able to provide the full range of services for both Nigerians and Americans for those seeking to go to the US on tourist travel or immigrate to the US.
“We know that it’s still extremely difficult to get a visa appointment, either at the Consular section here in Lagos or the Consular section in Abuja.
“And the intent of the new programme is to allow us to increase our services for people seeking to travel to the US for tourism or some types of work or to study while still being able to provide the services that we have to provide to Americans living in Nigeria, like renewing passports and obtaining birth certificates for their children and the services that we need to provide to Nigerians who want to immigrate to the United States to reunite with family”, Ms Tuller had said at a press conference in Lagos earlier in February.
