By Emma Emeozor

The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced the expansion of visa services to assist non-immigrant visa applicants in Nigeria who qualify to renew their visa. 

In a statement, yesterday, the US Consulate General Information Specialist, Public Affairs Section, Temitayo Famutimi, said the new application procedures will begin in February at the US Consulate in Lagos and will be extended shortly thereafter to the US Embassy in Abuja. 

“The number of qualified applicants who can apply using the new procedures will be limited initially,” he said. 

On no-interview visa renewal, he said an applicant may be eligible for a visa renewal without an interview if the application is for a B1/B2, F, M, J (academic only), H, L or C1/D (combined only) visa and he/she meets each of the following criteria: “Previous visa was issued in Nigeria; Previous visa is in the same classification as your current application; Previous visa was a full validity, multiple entry visa; Previous visa expired within the last 24 months or will expire in the next three months from the date of application; have all passports covering the entire period since receiving the previous visa and the passport with the most recent visa; have never been arrested or convicted of any crime or offence in the United States, even if you later received a waiver or pardon; and have never worked without authorisation or remained beyond your permitted time in the United States.

“Each applicant must individually meet the criteria; minors can apply without an interview only if they meet the eligibility criteria on their own. Processing time for the programme can be up to two months and applicants will not be able to retrieve their passport(s) during that time.”

On emergency appointments, Famutimi said persons having a life-or-death emergency may request an expedited, in-person interview, however, to accommodate no-interview visa renewals appointments will be very limited.