The US government has announced that Nigerian students who want to pursue their education in the United States will be able to renew their visas without having to go through an interview.
On Thursday, April 21, the embassy posted a statement on its website informing the public of this.
“If you are presently studying in the United States, you may be eligible to extend your student visa without an interview when you return to Nigeria this summer,” according to the statement.
The pilot program for No-Interview Visa Renewals began at the US Consular Section in Lagos and is scheduled to be expanded to Abuja “shortly.”
Susan Tuller, the Consular Coordinator for the United States Mission in Nigeria, said the program is aimed at students, tourists, and some work visas that the mission can handle in Nigeria.
“The pilot program will considerably enhance the options for Nigerians to apply for a visa renewal if they’ve already been given a US visa in the past and meet the qualifying criteria,” Ms. Tuller said at a press briefing in Lagos.
“And this program is one of the 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 are aware that getting a visa appointment, whether in the Lagos Consular Section or the Abuja Consular Section, is still extremely tough.
“And the goal of the new program is to allow us to expand our services for people looking to travel to the United States for tourism, work, or study while still being able to provide the services we need to provide to Americans living in Nigeria, such as renewing passports and obtaining birth certificates for their children, as well as the services we need to provide to Nigerians looking to immigrate to the United States to reunite with family.”
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