The Federal Government has approved a reduction in visa charges payable by United States citizens from $180 to $150.
On Wednesday, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior, said Muhammad Babandede, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, had been directed to implement the decrease in the visa charges with effect from Thursday.
The development is coming after the US government announced the new visa regime on Tuesday, stating that Nigerians applying for US visas would be required to pay a visa issuance fee, or reciprocity fee, with effect from August 29, 2019.
The US Consulate in Lagos had said that the reciprocity fee would be charged in addition to the non-immigrant visa application fee, also known as the Machine Readable Visa fee, which all applicants pay at the time of application.
It stated that the reciprocity fee was applicable to all approved applications for nonimmigrant visas in B, F, H1B, I, L, and R visa classifications, noting that Nigerian citizens whose applications for a nonimmigrant visa were denied would, however, not be charged the new reciprocity fee.
The statement from the Consulate in Lagos explained that both reciprocity and MRV fees are non-refundable, and their amounts vary based on visa classification.
But the ministry in a statement by its spokesman, Mohammed Manga, said a committee set up to conduct due diligence in line with the ministry’s extant policy on reciprocity of visa fees had earlier engaged with the US embassy on the issue, adding that the implementation of its recommendations was delayed due to “transition processes in the ministry at the policy level.”
It said, “The committee had concluded its assignment and submitted a report, but the issuance of authorisation for its recommendations was delayed due to transition processes in the ministry at the policy level.
“Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior, has approved the decrease of visa charges payable by US citizens in line with reciprocity policy as recommended by the committee.”
EMELIKE OBINNA and IFEOMA OKEKE
