After more than 18 months of unfruitful negotiations with the Nigerian government to reduce its high visa fee, the United States Embassy yesterday invoked its reciprocity rule.
“The total cost for a U.S. 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,” says a statement by the Public Affairs Section (PAS) U.S. Consulate General in Lagos.
The new fee for all approved applications for non-immigrant visas in categories: B, F, H1B, I, L, and R will begin tomorrow.
The statement adds: “The reciprocity fee will be charged in addition to the non-immigrant visa application fee, also known as the MRV fee, which all applicants pay at the time of application. Nigerian citizens whose applications for a non-immigrant 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.”
Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom have some of the most expensive visa regime, with applicants being subjected to multiple scrutiny and bureaucratic tapes by consular and security agencies.