The United States has announced that Nigerians will be required to pay visa issuance fees or reciprocity fees from the 29th of August 2019. It will be charged alongside the non-immigrant visa application fee which all applicants pay at the time of application.
Nigerian citizens whose applications for a non-immigrant visa are denied will not be charged the new reciprocity fee. Both reciprocity and MRV fees are non-refundable, and their amounts vary based on visa classification.
This was announced on the U.S Mission Nigeria’s website and social media platforms.
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Possible reason: The newly revised visa policy is probably as a result of the Nigerian visa fees. There had been concerns in the past that Americans were paying too much to secure Nigerian visas.
Reports have it that the US Embassy since last year (2018) has been in talks with the Nigerian Government seeking a reduction of visa fees for Americans. So far, the effort made by the American Government has proven abortive.
After eighteen months of review and consultation, the U.S Department of States decided to enact the new fees.
Current fees: Nigerian applicants going for tourism, student and business visas will have to pay an extra N33,770 ($110) for the visa issuance fee. Applicants going for the L1 Visa (work permit) will pay an extra ($303) N93, 021 if given visas while those applying for H4 Visa (dependency/spousal) will pay a N55,260 ($180) fee.
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Prior to this development, the U.S. Government had cancelled the drop-box system which previously allowed Nigerians with a travel history to apply for visas without going for interviews at the embassy.
With the policy introduced in May 2019, Nigerians seeking to renew their visas to go to the United States have now been mandated to attend visa interviews like first-timers.
