The United States Consular in Lagos, Nigeria has blamed corrupt visa facilitators and agents operating with impunity across the country for exorbitant visa application fees paid by most Nigerians looking to exit the country.
Susan Tuller, the Consular Coordinator, US Embassy disclosed this while launching the no-interview U.S Visa Renewal Services on Wednesday in Lagos. She warned Nigerians against paying visa facilitators who manipulate the system to book visa appointments for them.
Speaking on the No-Interview U.S Visa Renewal Services reopened to speed up non-immigrant visa applications, she said the service will allow those qualified for renewal under the No-Interview to submit applications without paying any facilitator, ease traffic on the appointment portal, and allow more people to book without paying an unnecessary fee to agents.
Explaining some of the challenges faced while reviewing applications, she said visa facilitators usually complete appointment forms with vague or incorrect details, adding that sometimes applicants’ data may be missing.
“As of right now there are thousands of appointments available, for this new no interview renewal programme available right now and as long you meet the criteria and follow the procedure, there is no reason to pay someone to get the appointment.
“One of the real challenges with paying someone for the appointment is that the visa facilitators use vague information to book these appointments.
“When you buy a slot from them you don’t know the information they have put in the system,” Tuller said.
She recalled instances where visa applicants have no knowledge of what was used to book appointments for them on interview day, therefore the embassy wasn’t able to access their details because the information on their international passport was different from what was on the system.
Tuller urged all visa applicants to complete their appointment forms themselves. A breakdown of how to complete the form is on the official immigration travel websites.
She added that the No-Interview Visa Renewal Services takes about two months, during which applicant passports can not be retreived.
