The Chargé d’Affaires of the United States of America Embassy in Nigeria, David Greene, has disclosed that the demand for US Visas in Nigeria is increasing at an alarming rate, News About Nigeria reports.
The US envoy made this known on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, stating that the embassy has interviewed over 150,000 Nigerians for US visas, in addition to 30,000 student visa applicants.
He noted that the demand for US Visa appointments greatly outnumbers the supply, maintaining that the embassy is doing all it can to bridge the gap between the appointments and tackle all visa-related bottlenecks.
Greene further noted that hundreds of thousands of students have had the opportunity to seek visas from the U.S., specifically, 30,000 students.
According to him, this backlog was due to the COVID-19 pandemic which paused all activities.
He however stated that the embassy was committed to providing proper ways for all the categories, noting that a five-year term for visas to the U.S. was instituted in March to this effect.
He therefore urged Nigerians who want to travel to the U.S. to apply early and ensure that the visa requests are tied to the events they are going for, stressing that this will enhance the efficiency of the process and increase the chances of success.
According to a report by Nairametrics, Nigeria’s passport stands as the fifth least favourable for visa-free travel, ahead of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Sudan, and Libya, all contending with significant challenges related to insecurity and violence.
