The United States is scheduled to raise visitor visa validity from 24 months to 60 months for Nigerians who wish to enter the US temporarily for business and/or tourism, a statement from the US Consulate General said on Monday.
The new policy will commence on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, the statement added.
It had previously reported that the Federal Government instructed the implementation of a new visa reciprocity policy for nationals of the US with effect from March 1, 2023, after permission for the launch of the new Bilateral Consular Policy Agreements between the US and Nigeria
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, said the Bilateral Consular Policy Agreements between the two countries also include the reciprocity of five-year tourist visa validity for American citizens under Section 30 of the Immigration Act, 2015; extension of visa validity to three years for diplomats and government officials between the citizens of both countries.
The announcement by the US Consulate on Monday also promised that the cost of the visa fee currently stays the same.
The statement states, “Effective March 1, 2023, the U.S. Mission will enhance visitor visa validity from 24 months to 60 months for Nigerians who desire to travel to the United States temporarily for business and/or tourism.
“The visa validity extension enables Nigerians to utilize the visa for 60 months to make brief excursions to the United States for tourist or business reasons before needing to renew their visa. The visa application cost, now USD160, will not rise as a consequence of the longer visa validity.
The embassy further mentioned that raising visa validity was one of the numerous steps done by the US to decrease visa appointment wait times in Nigeria.
They also stated they would continue to grant No-Interview Visa Renewals to individuals who match the qualifying requirements noting that appointments for No-Interview Visa Renewals are easily accessible.
However, the embassy emphasized that Nigerians “may be eligible for a visa renewal without an interview if your application is for a B1/B2, F, M, J (academic only), H, L, or C1/D (combined only) visa.
“Additionally, the individual must be physically present in Nigeria, the prior visa was given in Nigeria, the previous visa is in the same classification as the current application, and the previous visa was a full-validity, multiple-entry visa.”
The embassy in listing conditions for applying for visa renewal said that the prior visa expired within the past 48 months or would expire in the following 3 months from the date of application. The applicant must have all the passports spanning the whole time since getting the prior visa and the passport with the most current visa.
Also, the individual must “never have been arrested or convicted of any crime or offence in the United States, even if you subsequently got a waiver or pardon. You have never worked without authorisation or lingered past your allotted time in the United States.”
The embassy warned applicants that the processing timeframes for the scheme are estimated to be up to two months and applicants would not be able to reclaim their passports during that time.
Minors may apply without an interview only if they match the qualifying standards on their own, the statement noted.
