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The US Mission in Nigeria announced that it has commenced expansion of its visa services to assist non-immigrant visa applicants in Nigeria who qualify to renew their visa. It stated that this new application procedure will begin in February at the US Consulate in Lagos.

However, it was explained that the number of qualified applicants who can apply using the new procedures will be limited at this first phase and that the processing may take up to two months. The US Mission further disclosed that the application procedure will also be extended to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja at a later time.

Speaking during a press conference at the US Consulate in Lagos, the US Mission Country Consular Coordinator, Susan Tuller, noted that the project was no-interview visa renewals. Tuller stated that it would be limited initially and applied only to applicants for academic exchange, work, study and tourist visas seeking renewal. According to her, every eligible applicant must have a previous visa that expired within the last 24 months or will expire in the next three months from the date of application.

This new initiative by the US Mission is different from the non-immigrant visa interview waiver process, known as the ‘dropbox.’ In time past, the ‘drop box’ system was introduced but it did not achieve its intended goals because it was fraught with “fraud, high overstay rates”.

This no-interview visa renewal is intended to reduce physical contacts for visa applications and to effectively improve the visa application process. Before now, applicants for U.S. visas are required to appear in person for visa interview at the Embassy in Abuja or the Consulate General in Lagos. Also, the person must schedule an appointment for the interview, either online or through their call center. But with the introduction of no-interview visa renewals, those strenuous processes will be a thing of the past.