US Embassy begins new visa application process
By Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi
A NEW web-based non-immigrant visa appointment scheduling system was yesterday introduced by the United States Embassy in Nigeria. From today, applicants will be able to log on to the mission's web site, http: // nigeria.usembassy.gov, fill in and submit an application form online, and obtain a confirmed date for an interview.
This is a departure from the usual practice, in which applicants were required to mail their forms by courier to the embassy and then wait for an appointment date. But according to Mr William Murad, the Vice Consul who briefed journalists in Lagos yesterday, applicants will no longer have to wait for their mail to arrive at the consulate, and then for a confirmation by return mail.
Apart from eliminating the high cost of sending forms by courier, a computer literate applicant will only need to sit in front of a computer for about 30 minutes, which, at any cyber-cafe, will cost only N60. The most significant relief is his or her ability to choose an appointment date from a wide range of what is available, and then get immediate and reliable confirmation.
According to Murad, all that is needed, is a computer with Internet facility, a browser, an adobe (a facility that, among other things, enables items to be uploaded on the Internet and read in the word document format), and a printer.
The three-step process runs thus: an applicant would log on to the missions web site, and click on the "visa appointments" link in the upper right corner. This will lead to the non-immigrant visa appointment page. A click on the "make a visa appointment" link will be required, after which an instruction appears which the applicant must read and click on "I understand" to proceed. After this, instructions will appear on how to fill out the DS-156 application form online.
Once this is understood, another click on "prepare application" button will be required. After a few seconds, the form will be displayed as an adobe acrobat file. The applicant will be required to print this form once it is completed, and then save the bar code number that will appear on the third page.
After this comes step two: an applicant clicks on the "make your appointment" link, which allows the applicant to select an appointment date from dates that are still available. The applicant then clicks on the "Choose Your Date" button, after which a calendar appears. Dates in yellow indicate 'open,' (that is available dates), while those in blue indicate 'closed' (that is unavailable dates). Applicants are also allowed to fill in the time of their interview from among the three sets: 7:30am, 9:30am and 11:30am. After a simple further documentation, an appointment date is confirmed.
However, Murad told journalists that unlike in the past, when a mother applied for an infant with her passport, every individual would now have to apply and obtain an appointment with separate passports. Besides, once an appointment has been confirmed for an individual with a particular passport number, no other appointment can be entered online until the confirmed date has passed. However, students and those who require urgent visas are to be taken care of separately.
Applications by mail will be entertained till August 31, after which all applicants will have to switch to the web based system.
