The Interior Minister, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has approved a reduction in visa charges payable by citizens of the United States, in line with the reciprocity policy as recommended by a committee set up to conduct due diligence.
The minister, who announced this in a statement by the director, press and public relations, Ministry of Interior, Mr. Mohammed Manga, in Abuja, on Wednesday, said the fee had been reduced to $160, with effect from August 29.
“The attention of the Ministry of Interior has been drawn to the introduction of reciprocity of visa fees by the United States of America.
“The ministry acknowledges that there were engagements with the U.S. Embassy on the issue and, in the aftermath, a committee was set up to conduct due diligence, in line with the ministry’s extant policy on reciprocity of visa fees.
“The committee had concluded its assignment and submitted a report but the issuance of authorisation for its recommendations was delayed due to transition processes in the ministry at the policy level,” he said.
Manga added that the ministry had approved the decrease and directed the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede, to implement it.
Accordingly, the Comptroller-General would, in line with the directive, implement the reduction in Nigeria’s visa charges on U.S. citizens with effect from Thursday, August 29, the statement said.
The U.S Embassy had on Tuesday announced increment in visa issuance fee for Nigerians. The embassy said that Nigerian citizens would begin to pay a visa issuance fee, also known as Reciprocity Fee, for all approved non-migrant visas, beginning August 29.
The embassy said that the new reciprocity fee ranged from $80 to $303 and would apply to non-migrant visas in the B, F, H1B, I, L, and R visa classifications.
The U.S. Embassy has adopted the rate of N370/$1 for Nigerians, which is higher than both the official rate and the black market rate.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the U.S. had earlier complained that its citizens were paying high fees to secure Nigerian visas.
Before the introduction of the reciprocity fee, U.S. citizens paid an average of $180 to secure Nigerian visas.
The embassy said, since early 2018, the U.S. government had engaged the Nigerian government to request that it changed the fees charged U.S. citizens for certain visa categories.
According to the embassy, after 18 months’ review and consultations, Nigeria had still not changed its fee structure for U.S. citizen visa applicants.
It said that it was on that basis that the U.S. Department of State decided to introduce new reciprocity fees, in accordance with U.S. visa laws.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy, Abuja, has denied blocking appointment dates for visa interviews of Nigerians seeking to travel to that country.
The Public Affairs Department of the embassy made this known in Abuja yesterday.
The embassy said in a short reply, “There has been no block on visa interviews. There are interview appointment opportunities available.”
A visa interview is intended for a more in-depth communication between the applicant and the representative of a diplomatic office.
A citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the U.S. is expected to first obtain a visa, either a non-immigrant visa for temporary stay or an immigrant visa for permanent residence.
Citizens of qualified countries may also be able to visit the U.S. without a visa under the Visa Waiver Programme.
NAN reports that, on August 20, some social media platforms reported that Nigerians who had applied for U.S. visas could not get appointments for interviews despite paying of visa fees.
According to the reports, after payment, once an applicant attempted to make an interview appointment, the applicant was informed through the U.S. Embassy’s consultant website, CGI INC, that there were no available dates for visa appointments.