The United States Mission has said that it is prioritising immigrant visa applicants affected by the travel restrictions under the Presidential Proclamations 9645 and 9983 signed by former President Donald Trump last year.
This followed the Presidential Proclamation signed by President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021, titled, ‘Ending discriminatory bans on entry to the United States’.
Trump had suspended entry into the US by certain nationals from various countries, including Nigeria, based on visa type.
But the US Mission in a statement on Tuesday said its Consulate-General in Lagos had already contacted all immigrant visa applicants, whose applications were affected, and was prioritising the processing of the pending cases.
It noted that media reports claiming that Nigerians denied visas on or after January 20, 2020, could re-apply for free were inaccurate, adding that the proclamation announcement applied only to certain immigrant visa cases and did not apply to tourist, business, student, or other non-immigrant visas.
The statement titled: ‘United States Mission in Nigeria prioritizes immigrant visa applicants refused under Presidential Proclamation 9983’, read in part, “On January 20, 2021, President Biden signed a Presidential Proclamation titled: ‘Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to the United States’. This ended the travel restrictions under Presidential Proclamations 9645 and 9983 that had suspended entry into the United States of certain nationals, based on visa type, from various countries to include Nigeria.
“In Nigeria, this proclamation banned entry for certain immigrant visa categories. The US Consulate-General in Lagos has already contacted all immigrant visa applicants whose applications were affected and is prioritising the processing of these pending cases.”
The mission further disclosed that the consular sections in Abuja and Lagos were gradually restoring routine visa operations in accordance with COVID-19 safety mitigation protocols.
It said the validity of non-immigrant visa payments (known as the MRV fee) had been extended till September 30, 2022, to allow all applicants, who were unable to schedule a visa appointment as a result of the suspension of routine consular operations, an opportunity to schedule and/or attend a visa appointment with the already paid fee.
“Non-immigrant visa applicants, who were previously refused and would like to apply again, will need to submit a new visa application (DS-160) and pay a new visa application processing fee,” the mission added.
