Breaking: US Withdraws Reciprocity Visa Fees For Nigerians

The United States Government has announced the withdrawal of visa reciprocity fees for Nigerians applying for visas to the US, Jameela News understands.

Jameela News reports that the US made this development effective from December 3 after a meeting on the Trump-imposed fee.

This online news medium understands that the Donald Trump administration had in 2019 imposed the reciprocity fee for all approved non-immigrant visa applications by Nigerians.

The reciprocity fee which is estimated to be around $80 to $303, depending on the visa class, was charged in addition to visa application fees for Nigerian applicants who have been issued visas.

Jameela News learned that the reciprocity fee was as a result of a failed attempt by Nigeria to adjust the high fee it charges American visa applicants.

The US Embassy claimed that the cost for a US citizen to apply for a visa to Nigerian was more than the cost for a Nigerian to get a US visa.

It insisted that the reciprocity fee was meant to strike a balance between the cost difference as required by the laws of the United States.

On Saturday, December 5 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday, revealed that the reciprocity fee was scrapped as a result of the excess visa application, processing and biometric fees for American citizens seeking Nigerian visas.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Ferdinand Nwonye confirmed the removal of the reciprocity visa fee in aa statement titled, “Update on the removal of visa fees for Nigerian citizens by the US Government“.

The statement read in parts: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that the United States Government has removed all visa reciprocity fees for Nigerian citizens seeking visas to the United States.

“The positive development is in line with the removal of excess visa application, processing and biometric fees for United States citizens applying for Nigerian visas by the Nigerian
Government.

“The United States Government has, therefore, eliminated reciprocity fees for Nigerian citizens with effect from December 3, 2020.”