‘Visa Applicants Must Plan Ahead, Avoid Touts’

Mon, 19/12/2011 - 4:08am | EZRA IJIOMA, CHINYERE FRED-ADEBGULUBGE, and IBANGA ISINE

A lot of Nigerians tend to believe that it is very difficult to get a visa to the United States. With this mindset, many have approached the processes wrongly and have been denied visa by Embassy officials. In interview,  the Chief Consul at the US Embassy in Abuja, Carol Cox, tells Chinyere Fred-adegbulugbe, Ibanga Isine and Ezra Ijioma how applicants can get the US visa without tears.

A LOT OF NIGERIANS ARE DENIED VISAS BY THE UNITED STATES EMBASSY WITHOUT GIVING THEM THE BENEFIT OF PROVING THE AUTHENTICITY OF THEIR APPLICATIONS. WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT FOR NIGERIANS TO SECURE VISAS TO THE US?
Our visa law is actually enacted by the Congress (US lawmaking body) and all officers down the line have to implement the law. That law is that all non-immigrant visa applicants are considered intending immigrants until they can prove to the officers that they are not. So, the onus is on the applicants to establish the genuineness of their cases before being considered for visa. They can do that by establishing strong family, economic and social ties to their country of residence and that they would return after their short visits. They have to also prove that they have residences here in Nigeria they don’t intend to abandon. In terms of documentation and having an interview, it is up to the applicant to be very articulate and credible while  explain the purpose of travelling. Unfortunately, even though we approve the majority of applications that come to us here in Nigeria, not everyone will get a visa.

WHAT ARE THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR VISA APPLICANTS?
Well, there are definitely a few requirements like strong economic status and family ties with someone in the US who could issue an official visit request. Then there must be evidence that you have ties in your country of residence an you are not going to abandon it. Your passport must be valid at least six months after the end of the intended visit and a non-refundable application fee of $140 or N22, 000. We found out that many Nigerians do not realise that there are no commissions and no extra fees. It’s easy to book an appointment online when you have paid the application fee. After that, there is no magic formula. There is no magic touch on how to obtain a visa. We interview applicants individually, recognising their individual circumstances. The flow of the interview goes with what the applicants tell us and what information they put in their application forms.

WHAT MIGHT LEAD TO A REVIEW OF VISA APPLICATION AFTER AN INITIAL REFUSAL?
Every supervisor is required to review applications for refusals and issuances and I am a supervisor. If there is a misapplication of the law, the supervisor is required to recall the applicant; have another interview and then make a new decision. Otherwise, if the supervisor feels that the decision was appropriate or there was no misapplication of the law, there is no need for a review. Basically, everyone has an opportunity to reapply.

IS IT THEN TRUE THAT SOMETIMES, THOSE INTERVIEWING VISA APPLICANTS MISAPPLY THE LAW?
They don’t misapply the law. The law is very grey. There is a presumption of intended immigration. And so the law is on the side of the officers and it is up to the applicant to convince the officer.

ARE THERE NO BETTER WAYS OF INTERVIEWING VISA APPLICANTS WITHOUT AMPLIFYING THE ANSWERS ON LOUDSPEAKERS?
We have various situations in our interviews that do not necessitate the use of a microphone. We are looking into sound proofing and trying to soundproof the walls on both sides because it is also very loud on the other side as well. Sometimes, I can’t get to hear from an applicant because the sound is very loud on my side as well. We are trying to make people regulate the microphone a bit. Unfortunately, we do need to ask some personal questions to establish the authenticity of the information supplied by applicants. In extremely sensitive situations, we do have privacy booths. But that is not with the majority of the applicants. So, we try to ask questions that will help us get information and make decisions quickly, efficiently and appropriately as possible. We do not intend to embarrass anyone.

WHAT ABOUT ASKING SOMEONE WHO APPLIED TO A UNIVERSITY IN THE US IF THERE ARE NO UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA?
We have to ask a lot of questions to establish that the applicant is qualified for the visa he is applying for. Unfortunately, it has been well-publicised in the media in my country that there have been some schools that actually helped students with visas and these students never had any intention of going to and never attended a single class. There are fraudsters in the United States as well who take advantage of people. There are people who want to get to the United States and believe that it is easier to get in through student visas but they do not intend to study. We want to attract every legitimate traveler but we have to determine if the person is qualified for the category of visa he or she is seeking, whether they have the funds to study in the school and determine their thought process, too.

IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO MIGRATE TO THE US BUT HAS NO FAMILY TIES THERE?
We have the versity visa lottery scheme but all immigrant visa applications are handled in Lagos. There is the temporary work visa arrangement. If you go as a temporary worker, eventually your employer may request that you be assisted to apply for legal immigrant residence. But this is specifically for temporary workers.

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES FOR AN APPLICANT WHOSE RELATIONS IN THE US INVITE HIM OR HER TO COME OVER?
Siblings can petition for siblings but it is a longer way because it depends if they are married or not married and if they are under or over 21 years. But it is a more difficult way to migrate to the US.

MOST NIGERIANS TEND TO BELIEVE THAT THE US VISA REQUIREMENTS ARE MORE STRINGENT HERE THAN IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD?
No, our visa rules are the same worldwide. The visa application fees are the same worldwide. You have to make an application and book an appointment and that is done online in most places. We don’t have the same online system in all the countries. You know as you probably experienced, when you are moving from paper work to electronic, you experience some slow-downs. So, that could be the reason why it could be more difficult here in comparison with some other places. We are migrating towards a worldwide online system and Nigeria is one of the first countries to go on that. It started with North American countries, Canada and Mexico about a year ago. So, this is a new system and we bring in countries not one at a time but in groups.

WHAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LONG WAIT FOR A VISA APPOINTMENT?

We had a 17 per cent increase in visa applications between 2010 and 2011 but no increase in personnel. We actually had someone come down from Poland so we can start doing more applications. We currently have someone from India helping us. We are very grateful that the Nigerian embassies in Poland and India issued visas overnight in order to have those people come and help us process more applications. We are working on Saturdays; twice a month. We actually got a lot of calls from people who thought it was a scam when we told them to come for their visa interviews on a Saturday. We are working with the Department of State in the US, and they understand that we are working on a number of fronts to figure out how to get more resources, improve the wait time and squeeze out the touts. We want people to know that they can book their appointments and do not need to go to someone else for that. And they don’t need to pay anyone else to book an appointment.

APART FROM INCREASED NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS, WHAT OTHER FACTORS CAUSE THE LONG WAIT TIME FOR VISA APPOINTMENTS?
That’s a big one because booking of appointments and the no-show rate has varied between five and fifty per cent. It makes scheduling a little bit difficult because I can’t over-schedule for fear that my staff may not be able to handle and people will be very upset at the gate because they can’t complete their application on the same day. But if I under-schedule, then we have idle time.

YOU MEAN SOMETIMES PEOPLE BOOK FOR VISA APPOINTMENTS AND NEVER SHOW UP?
Yes, they do.

HOW MANY NIGERIANS HAVE APPLIED FOR VISA AND HOW MANY OF THESE APPLICATIONS WERE GRANTED IN 2011?
I did not look up at the specific numbers but I do know that we processed over 40, 000 visa applications in 2011 in Abuja alone. Over 50 per cent of the applications were issued visas. We are working with the Embassy to see if we can add more staff to assist in the process. It would help us greatly if people would be truthful and accurate when they come in for their interviews. Sometimes, individuals are not truthful and accurate and if we don’t see you as being truthful, then we question every other thing that comes along. If that happens, then they have not convinced the officer of presumption of intending immigration. Some applicants know their story that the think that it is obvious that ‘I am a CEO of an organisation and of course I should be given a visa’ and they don’t expect that they should provide a little more detail. So the applicants should be patient and understand that we do need them to provide more information.

WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER THE COMMONEST MISTAKE MADE BY NIGERIAN VISA APPLICANTS?
They don’t fill out their forms accurately. They misrepresent facts.

AN INDIVIDUAL HAS A SIX-MONTH VALID VISA TO THE US AND NEEDS TO TAKE HIS CHILDREN ON A VACATION TO THE US. DOES HE NEED ANOTHER VISA FOR HIMSELF OR JUST FOR THE CHILDREN?
Well, this is a Catch-22 question because by the time the individual gets an appointment for his children; his visa is going to be close to expiring. Unfortunately, until I know when the next officer is coming in, I can’t add anymore appointments. As I am talking right now, the next regular appointments are out in May, 2012.  But I leave a little wriggle room so that we can accommodate emergencies. We always leave room so that we can accommodate people with medical emergencies, humanitarian travels and sometimes students who must resume school immediately. However, an individual may have two different types of visas at the same time.

WHAT IS THE MOST CONSISTENT TYPE OF VISA APPLICATION YOU GET FROM NIGERIANS?
Tourism. An unbelievable number of Nigerians apply for tourism visa. Over 50 per cent of the applications we receive are for tourism followed probably, by students. Tourism combines business and medical reasons.

HOW MANY NIGERIANS HAVE APPLIED TO THE US FOR ASYLUM SINCE THE REBIRTH OF DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA?
I don’t have the record to answer that question. Asylum seekers apply to the Department of Homeland Security, which is a different agency.

ARE APPLICANTS REQUIRED TO PURCHASE AIR TICKET AS PRECONDITION FOR VISA ISSUANCE?
We don’t encourage people to buy air tickets before visa is issued. Even if the visa has been approved, it is advisable to wait until you pick up your passport before buying a ticket.

WHAT ABOUT THE INCURSION OF TOUTS IN THE VISA APPLICATION PROCESS?
We are working with our service providers on different ways to shutout the touts but we have not been completely successful. We have had a few arrested and we would like to arrest more. We would like to have Nigerians apply a lot faster than they do right now and that’s why we work on some Saturdays. We have people who have no idea that the application fee is only N22, 000 and we have people who have no idea that they can book their own appointments. So we tell people not to patronise the touts but to go ahead and book their own appointments. Applicants must plan ahead and not pay the touts. By planning ahead, the applicant is sure to get an appointment at the right time and will complete the processes before the travel time. We are trying hard to reducing the wait time.

http://www.leadership.ng/nga/articles/10930/2011/12/19/%E2%80%98visa_applicants_must_plan_ahead_avoid_touts%E2%80%99.html

nice one there