Applicants flood US embassy with expired visas

With the roll-out of the limited pilot no-interview visa renewal programme, some applicants have rushed to passport dropbox appointments with expired visas older than 24 months, the U.S. Mission Nigeria said on Thursday.

A message from the consular section posted on its twitter handle advised that applicants check their passport before applying for an appointment to ensure it is accepted upon delivery.

“You can check the requirements at ustraveldocs.com as well as ng.usembassey.gov, official sources for accurate information. We hope to have more appointments open soon,” it stated.

The U.S. Mission Nigeria on Tuesday officially launched a new visa renewal known as ‘No interview renewals.’

Susan Tuller, U.S Mission country consular coordinator, said the new application procedure will begin in February at the U.S. Consulate in Lagos and will be extended shortly thereafter to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja.

The number of qualified applicants who can apply using the new procedure will be limited initially, she said.

Tuller noted that processing times for the program are expected to be up to two months and applicants would not be able to retrieve their passport during that time.

Each applicant must individually meet the criteria; minors can apply without an interview only if they meet the eligibility criteria on their own.

Applicants must meet the following criteria: “Your previous visa was issued in Nigeria; Your previous visa is in the same classification as your current application; Your previous visa was a full validity, multiple entry visa; Your previous visa expired within the last 24 months or will expire in the next 3 months from the date of application; You have all your passports covering the entire period since receiving the previous visa and the passport with the most recent visa; You have never been arrested or convicted of any crime or offense in the United States, even if you later received a waiver or pardon; and You have never worked without authorization or remained beyond your permitted time in the United States”.

Those eligible for a Visa renewal without an interview include applicants for B1/B2, F, M, J (academic only), H, L, or CI/D (combined only) Visa.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.