February 01, (THEWILL) – The United States (US) Government has announced the resumption of the drop box service or interview waiver in Nigeria.
This is coming 32 months after the US mission in Nigeria, first announced the indefinite suspension of drop box process for visa renewals in all its consulates in Nigeria in May 2019.
The suspension order was disclosed in a statement by the United States Embassy in Nigeria.
The Drop Box visa renewal programme allows certain visa applicants who have previously been issued US visas to renew their visas without attending an interview. This means that you can get a US visa stamp without any personal interview by a US visa officer, but rather submit documents.
However, in the outlined criteria, the embassy said to qualify for the interview waiver, “visa applicants must be applying to renew either a B1/B2, an F, an L, or an H visa. The applicants must satisfy all of the criteria for their visa class.”
The statement noted that, if applying as a group or family, all members must fulfil each criterion to use the programme.
The US Embassy in Nigeria, also said that applicants who are 79 years and older automatically qualify for the interview waiver. Although, they are still required to apply and print a copy of their interview waiver letter through the schedule platform.
The statement read in part: “Right now, this service is only available to applicants renewing a B1/B2, C1/D, F, M or J, H and L visa. Applicants must satisfy all the following criteria for their visa class. If applying as a group or family, all members must fulfil all criteria to qualify for interview waiver.
“For B1/B2 or C1/D visa holders: the applicant must possess a full-validity B1/B2 or C1/D visa that expired within the past 24 months or will expire in the next three months.
“The applicant must be a citizen or resident of Nigeria. The applicant must not have been refused a visa since the issuance of the previous visa, or had a visa revoked, or have ever required a waiver.
“The applicant possesses all issued passports covering the entire period since receiving the previous visa and the passport with the most recent visa.
“The applicant has never been arrested or convicted of any crime or offence in the United States, even if the applicant has later received a waiver or pardon.
“The applicant has never worked without authorisation or remained beyond their permitted time in the United States. C1/D applicants must possess a letter from the employer outlining the scope, duration, and location of the anticipated work.”
The same criteria also apply to Lagos F or M visa holders and Abuja applicants with F1/F2 visas, while for J visa holders, the embassy said the visa must be for academic purposes.
“The applicant’s DS-2019 must be for an academic program (not summer work travel, au pair, or camp counsellor”, the statement said.
The embassy also instructed applicants to complete their applications using this link.:
“The following documents are to be mailed to the Abuja embassy via a designated document delivery DHL facility: “A printout of your submission letter (printed from https://ustraveldocs.com/ng/); completed DS-160; an approved I-20; a receipt for your I-901 SEVIS fee; a GTB (MRV) receipt for your visa fee; your passport containing the expired student visa (if that passport is expired, a current valid passport is also required).”
Also required are: “A passport photograph meeting these requirements; proof of continued full-time enrollment (such as transcripts, tuition payment, etc.)”.
The embassy added that only applicants with scheduled appointments can drop off documents at the US Consulate.
THEWILL recalls that the US mission in Nigeria on May 14, 2019, had announced the indefinite suspension of drop box process for visa renewals in all its consulates in Nigeria, noting that visa applications would no longer be accepted by DHL in the country.
The mission in its statement had said, “All applicants in Nigeria seeking a non-immigrant visa to the United States must apply online, and will be required to appear in-person at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja or U.S. Consulate General in Lagos to submit their application for review. Applicants must appear at the location they specified when applying for the visa renewal. Mission Nigeria’s processing procedures are regularly reviewed in order to assess our ability to quickly, efficiently, and securely process visa applications. The U.S. Mission is taking this step to provide more efficient customer service and promote legitimate travel, and will continue to facilitate applications of established travellers to the best of its ability.’’
The suspension of “Drop box” visa application in Nigeria was one of the stringent visa policies introduced by the Donald Trump administration which also restricted entry into the US by certain nationals including Nigerians based on visa type.
Also, the US Government, had in March 2021, insisted that the suspension of the non-immigrant visa interview waiver process, popularly referred to as ‘drop box’ is still in force and not yet been lifted in Nigeria, following media reports that suggested the lifting of the ban.
About the Author
