The US Embassy in Nigeria has set November 24 as the start date for international student visa applications. Following the easing of travel restrictions for vaccinated travellers, the embassy predicted a large spike.
To combat the spread of Covid-19, the United States established travel restrictions in early 2020. With the expiration of the US presidential proclamation on November 8, applications for all types of visas will become eligible.
In a statement headlined “US student visa rush begins November 24, 2021,” the embassy stated that requests for appointment rescheduling will be denied in order to book as many eligible and interested students as possible.
The statement read: “These surge days will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. To make an appointment in Abuja, visit www.ustraveldocs.com/ng and review the criteria and instructions to request an emergency student visa interview, and prepare the below documents: ” A completed DS-160; an approved I-20; receipt for your I-901 SEVIS fee; a GTBank (MRV) receipt for your visa fee; a scan of the bio page of your current valid passport and your passport photograph meeting these requirements. Lagos student surge days will take place on November 24, December 8 & 15. These surge days will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. To make an appointment in Lagos, you should e-mail all the documents to LagosStudents@state.gov.”
“To be qualified for a special application procedure, you must be renewing a student visa that is still acceptable or has lapsed within the last 24 months and are renewing your visa either to continue involvement in the same significant course of study even if at a different institution or to participate the same organization even if in a different major course of study,” the embassy added.
“If the applicant’s passport is expired, he or she must provide a passport carrying the expired student visa, as well as a current valid passport and a full transcript.” The accounting period for a US visa for various purposes like work, business and studies are between September of a year to August the next year,” officials said.
The consulate announced that it would be broadening operational processes to better serve the country’s student population, including a formal process for those who need to renew their student visas in order to continue their studies, as well as a series of dedicated interview days for prospective new students. It said that if an applicant was a prospective student seeking an F1 visa appointment and had not been rejected an F1 visa in the previous six months, he or she may be qualified for a priority student visa interview slot. It requested that interested candidates submit the necessary documentation as soon as possible in order to take advantage of the restricted chance.
The United States Embassy has said that there would be considerable appointment wait periods for several non-immigrant visa categories while it recovers from the Covid-19-related disruptions. The mission expressed gratitude for people’s patience as “we seek to enhance our capacity and ensure the safety of our applicants and personnel.”
“The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded that vaccinations acceptable for entry into the United States would include those FDA approved or authorized, as well as vaccines having an emergency use listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO),” it added.
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