THE United States Mission in Nigeria announced on Friday that it would prioritise student visa applicants and ensure that Nigerian students got their appointments well ahead of the programme.
The U.S. Mission Country Consular Coordinator Susan Tuller said in a statement sent to The ICIR that the Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos would make every effort to assist applicants in a timely fashion while keeping everyone safe.
According to Tuller, processing students’ visas remained of utmost importance to the US Mission in Nigeria, and appointments would be offered to as many students as possible.
“We will increase the number of student visa appointments in May and June to ensure that we can offer appointments to as many students as possible. If your U.S. studies are scheduled to begin this Fall, we encourage you to schedule your appointment as quickly as possible,” she said.
Tuller explained that the student visa appointments must be booked through the U. S. Travel Docs website at www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/. She advised applicants against the use of third- party agents, as they were more interested in profit making, and might not provide accurate information, which could negatively affect an applicant’s chances of qualifying for the visa.
She encouraged applicants to check out EducationUSA Advicing Centers at the American spaces in Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan and Calabar at educationUSA.state.gov to prepare for the US educational opportunity, adding that both Nigeria and the U.S. would benefit when Nigerian students studied at educational institutions in the U. S.
According to records, Nigeria remains one of the largest markets for schools in the U. S. with over 13,000 Nigerians studying in the country in the 2019/2020 academic session.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.