Visa drop box service: Reps committee to engage US over removal

The House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs has resolved to take diplomatic steps to address the recent removal of the drop box service for Nigerians renewing their US visas.

The drop box system, which previously allowed eligible applicants to renew their visas without attending an in-person interview, has been quietly discontinued from the appointment booking system.

Read also: Nigerians face travel uncertainty as U.S. ends visa dropbox service

Over the weekend, visa applicants in Nigeria reported that the United States had ceased offering the drop box service, requiring all visitor visa applicants to now attend in-person interviews for renewals.

Speaking on the matter during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday, the committee’s chairman, Oluwole Oke, expressed his intention to engage US authorities on the issue.

“I am in the US. I will take this matter up. We have a chargé d’affaires there, and I will discuss this issue with him to find a way to resolve it,” Oke said.

“Unfortunately, this decision is theirs to make. I contacted the Minister of Foreign Affairs to find out if he had any official communication on this matter, and he clearly stated that there has been no message from the United States about it,” he added.

Oke suggested that the removal of the drop box service might stem from the principle of reciprocity, as Nigeria does not offer a similar service to Americans renewing their Nigerian visas.

Read also: Investment immigration: Countries still offering Golden Visas

““As for visa renewal, that’s not a service we offer Americans in the United States. When Americans or Nigerians born in America want to renew their visas, we don’t provide them with a drop box. The fact that they gave us the option was entirely their choice. In diplomacy, there is the principle of reciprocity”, he explained.

He also noted that before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, the US government issued Nigerians two-year visas, while Nigeria only offered US citizens one-year visas.