Nigerians are at risk of losing American entry visas which have two-year validity except the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government changes existing immigration policy with the United States.
An indication of this emerged yesterday as content on the Executive Order signed on Friday by US President Donald Trump became public.
Section 9 of the Executive Order states: “The Secretary of State shall review all non-immigrant visa reciprocity agreements to ensure that they are, with respect to each visa classification, truly reciprocal insofar as practicable with respect to validity period and fees, as required by sections 221(c) and 281 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1201(c) and 1351, and other treatment.
“If a country does not treat United States nationals seeking non-immigrant visas in a reciprocal manner, the Secretary of State shall adjust the visa validity period, fee schedule, or other treatment to match the treatment of United States nationals by the foreign country, to the extent practicable…”
Currently, Nigeria issues one-year multiple-entry visa to Americans, which is a non-reciprocation of the two-year visa US issues to Nigerians.
As Trump’s order takes immediate effect, Nigerians holding valid two-year US visas may also be affected.
However, Nigeria charges higher fees compared to charges by the American government despite shorter visa validity.
While the US charges Nigerians $160 for a typical visit visa, Nigeria charges $180, in addition to a $35 “processing fee”.