The United States (US) on Friday reiterated that the Reciprocity visa fees imposed on Nigerians worldwide will for now remain in place because it has not received any official confirmation that the Nigerian government has decreased visa charges payable by US citizens willing to travel to Nigeria.
The Nigerian Ministry of Interior had on Wednesday announced through the Director of Press and Public Relations, Mohammed Manga that the federal government has approved the decrease of Visa charges payable by US citizens following the imposition of the reciprocity visa fees on Nigerians by the US government.
“Accordingly, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede, has been directed to implement the decrease in Nigeria’s Visa charges to US Citizens with effect from Thursday, 29th August, 2019,” the statement said.
The US in a statement on Friday by the Public Affairs Division of its Embassy in Abuja however, said “the U.S. Embassy looks forward to receiving official diplomatic communication regarding a new fee schedule for Americans seeking Nigerian visas. Until such time, and confirmation of implementation, the reciprocity fees for approved visas to the United States will remain in place.”
The US in a statement on Tuesday announced that effective on 29 August, Nigerian citizens worldwide will be required to pay a visa issuance fee, or reciprocity fee, for all approved applications for nonimmigrant visas in B, F, H1B, I, L, and R visa classifications.
The statement noted that this decision became necessary because the total cost for a US citizen to obtain a visa to Nigeria is currently higher than the total cost for a Nigerian to obtain a comparable visa to the United States. “The new reciprocity fee for Nigerian citizens is meant to eliminate that cost difference,” the statement said.
The statement also pointed out that since early 2018, the US government has engaged the Nigerian government to request that the Nigerian government change the fees charged to US citizens for certain visa categories. It added that after eighteen months of review and consultations, the government of Nigeria has not changed its fee structure for US citizen visa applicants, requiring the US Department of State to enact new reciprocity fees in accordance with our visa laws.
US law requires US visa fees and validity periods to be based on the treatment afforded to US citizens by foreign governments, insofar as possible. Visa issuance fees are implemented under the principle of reciprocity: when a foreign government imposes additional visa fees on US citizens, the United States will impose reciprocal fees on citizens of that country for similar types of visas. Nationals of a number of countries worldwide are currently required to pay this type of fee after their nonimmigrant visa application is approved.
The statement noted that the reciprocity fee will be charged in addition to the nonimmigrant visa application fee, also known as the MRV fee, which all applicants pay at the time of application. It added that Nigerian citizens whose applications for a nonimmigrant visa are denied will not be charged the new reciprocity fee. Both reciprocity and MRV fees are non-refundable, and their amounts vary based on visa classification, the statement said.
Innocent Odoh
