Visa applicant to the United States of America may now face stiffer and stricter process as the US Embassy in Nigeria revealed the suspension of the 'dropbox' application. The embassy in a statement on Tuesday noted that henceforth, all applicants including frequent travellers who used to use the drop box method would now have to appear for interviews each time they applied.
Although, diplomat and government officials are clearly excluded as the embassy noted that they will continue to enjoy the status quo.
The statement read, “Effective at the close of business today, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, the US Mission to Nigeria is indefinitely suspending interview waivers for renewals, otherwise known as the ‘Dropbox’ process.
“Visa applications will no longer be accepted by DHL in Nigeria.
Those who have already submitted their passports via Dropbox to DHL for processing either at the US Embassy in Abuja or the Consulate General in Lagos, will not be impacted by this change.
“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 US Embassy in Abuja or US Consulate General in Lagos to submit their application for review.
Applicants must appear at the location they specified when applying for the visa renewal.
“Processing of diplomatic and official (A, G, and NATO class) visa applications will continue unchanged.”
The embassy disclosed that the development was necessary in order to review it visa processing procedure “assess our ability to quickly, efficiently, and securely process visa applications”.