The United States of America has continued to be an admired study destination for many Nigerians who want to further their education abroad. But visa denial has thwarted the plans of some students.
In Africa, denial rates for US student visas, known as F-1s, was at or near 50 percent across the eight-year period (2015-2022) studied, according to data by Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a non-profit group that advocates for international-student-friendly policies.
In Europe, fewer than 10 percent of applications are typically rejected, according to the organisation.
“These disparate outcomes call for sustained, serious investigation,” said Miriam Feldblum, executive director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.
In a recent report titled ‘Shorelight,’ put out by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, the United States denied 71 percent of students in Nigeria and other West African countries visas in 2022.
The report revealed that West Africa had the highest visa refusal rate on the continent in 2022. Central Africa had a refusal rate of 61 percent, Northern Africa had a refusal rate of 49 percent, Eastern Africa had a refusal of 48 percent, and Southern Africa had a rate of 16 percent.
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However, the report said visa denial rates for Southern Africa are among the lowest in the world, paralleling those of Europe.
While many believe that the demand for student visas in Nigeria and West Africa has continued to be overwhelming, thereby making the US consulate raise their criteria in granting travel access to Nigerian students, travel consultants and professionals believe that students are not well informed on the processes, documentations and criteria demanded from the US Consulate.
There are two student visa categories for people who want to study in the USA: F-1 student visa for ‘academic’ studies and M visa for ‘non-academic or vocational’ studies.
Students are often advised to apply for their visas at least four months before their planned travel to the US.
This is to give them enough time in case there are delays at the embassy or they wish to make an appeal in case their visa is denied.
While there are no hard and fast rules on what exactly students should do to ensure they are granted visas, the processes and documents students are expected to present increase their chances of getting visas. Travel consultants say most students who have been rejected fall short of this.
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Information by Visarefusal.com, a website that assist applicants for tourist, business, student, work, fiancée, and immigrant visas as well as conversations with a few travel consultants specialised in assisting and guiding students with documents and processes for travel, helped us compile seven tips on what students should do to reduce visa rejection.
Here are some useful tips to help reduce visa rejection when applying for their visas.
- Complying with visa regulations
This is a very important part of the US’s security that they expect all applicants to abide by. Applicants are expected to abide by the rules and regulations for a smooth and successful US visa application process.
Travel experts tell BusinessDay that most of the visa requests are denied or rejected because the applicants don’t adhere to the rules. This makes it one of the common US student visa rejection reasons.
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- Sufficient funds
It is expected that students must have some funds in their account that would sustain them for a while when they get to the US. For instance, this amount should reasonably cover their feeding, accommodations and tuition fees.
Gina Chika, a travel consultant, told BusinessDay that before being granted a visa, visa authorities would check to ensure you have sufficient funds to support your schooling and living costs for the anticipated term of stay. Chika said students who are able to prove that they have sufficient funds to sustain themselves while in the US would reduce chances of visa rejection.
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- Complete application form
Travel consultants say forms accurately filled increase students’ chances of obtaining a US visa. They say incomplete application form is undoubtedly one of the common US student visa rejection reasons. Every question in each field of application is considered crucial and must be answered correctly.
Susan Akporiaye, president of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), told BusinessDay that when students tell her they were rejected, the first thing she does is ask them for the documents and forms they presented.
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She said: “Most times, just by looking at these documents and forms, I will tell students why they were rejected. In some cases the documents may be complete but it is not just in having a complete document or not having a complete document alone. Some of the documents presented may be contradicting and this could raise suspicion.
“When students start to agitate that their documents are complete and there is no reason to have denied them visas, then I’ll start to review the documents. If a student meets a consultant, the consultant would be able to explain what happened.
“The US doesn’t give reasons for rejection but for the UK, just from the rejection letter alone, I can tell what went wrong. But for the US, you can’t know from the rejection paper. I will request for students to log in details to see what they did and how they filled their forms, what documents they uploaded and how you answered the questions,” Akporiaye said.
She said before a student goes for an interview, the interviewer already has his or her forms and has assessed it. If a form was not properly filled, the student has reduced his or her chances of getting the visa, she added.
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“It is not only about documentation, it starts with the form. Unfortunately, there have been cases of fake documentations. So, visa officers are no longer convinced by just documentation. Some are told to their faces that their documentations are fake. The documents are being uploaded and the visa officers have seen the documents before students come and have assessed them.”
- Good visa interview
Travel experts say confidence and being able to prove that all information provided in the forms students filled are correct increase their chances of securing a study visa. The NANTA president explained that if forms are properly filled, this would give students a 50 percent chance of being issued a visa.
She said the remaining 50 percent would then depend on the interview. She said the way students dress, the composure, body language and confidence are part of the considerations made by visa officers.
- Adequate academic achievements
Adequate academic achievement is also very important in increasing students’ chances to get in visas. According to Chika, the travel consultant, students must have adequate English language skills. She said poor grades might make it difficult.
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- School fees proof of payment
The NANTA president said paying off the school fees also helps. “Even if you don’t do a 100 percent payment, at least you should make some part payments. Once visa officers have seen you have made some school fees payment, it helps. However, there are times when people pay for the school fees and they are still refused. The school would then make refunds to them and just remove service charges,” she said.
She advised that students should learn to use professionals for their visa processes.
“A professional will sit you down, explain things to you and advise you what to do. A professional will not just ask for your passport and tell you he would do every other thing for you. This is not true,” Akporiaye added.
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- Travel history
A bad travel history marked in students’ past can have adverse effects on their current application process and is one of the US student visa rejection reasons. If students have a history of overstaying in a country, engaged in activities that are prohibited under a specific category of visa in the past, their applications may be rejected.
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