U.S. Embassy Abuja begins interview waiver for selected visa renewals

Beginning March 30, 2022, the United States Embassy in Abuja will begin processing certain non-immigrant visa renewal applications without requiring an interview, according to the US diplomatic mission in Nigeria’s capital city.

But the new waiver would apply on certain conditions, including: if the visa is B1/B2, F, M, J (academic only), H, L, or C1/D (combined only); the applicant previously received a U.S. non-immigrant visa that expired within the last 24 months, or will expire in the next three months from the date of application; the previous visa was issued in Nigeria; and the previous visa was a full validity, multiple entry visa.

Other conditions, according to the embassy include that the applicant must be applying for the same visa classification as the prior approved visa; has never been arrested or convicted of any crime in the United States (even if they later received a pardon or waiver); has never worked without authorization or overstayed in the United States; and has not had any significant life changes.

“Each applicant must individually meet all the requirements,” the embassy indicated in a mailed note announcing the waiver Programme.

“Please note, a parent’s qualifications cannot extend to a child.

“The child must independently meet each requirement.

“The number of applicants accepted for the Interview Waiver Program may initially be limited,” it added.

However, applicants seeking to utilize this no-interview program must set an appointment for document review online at ustraveldocs.com/ng.

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On the date and time of the appointment, the applicant must drop off all necessary documents at the address specified in their appointment letter, including a DS-160 confirmation page, a Valid passport and previous passports containing the most recent visa to the present, I-20 and I-901 SEVIS receipt, DS-2019 (if applicable), New passport photo, and a Copy of parent’s visa (if minor).

The embassy further clarified that applicants will not have access to their passport until processing is completed.

Processing times may vary, but are expected to be up to two months.

In cases where an interview is deemed necessary, the embassy will return the passport and notify the applicant to set an appointment to appear in person.

Application fees will remain the same and can be found at travel.state.gov. ($160 USD for non-petition-based non-immigrant visas, and $190 USD for petition-based non-immigrant visa categories.)

The embassy, however, warned intending visa applicants to beware of third parties unaffiliated with the U.S. Embassy Abuja who could take advantage of various visa services to target them with fraudulent offers or claims.

It therefore advised applicants to remember to rely on information only from genuine sources: travel.state.gov, ng.usembassy.gov/visas/, and ustraveldocs.com/ng, urging them to fill out their own forms and make appointments themselves using official websites.