By Vera Samuel Anyagafu  & Prisca Sam-Duru

THE US Consular Chief, Stacie Hankins has advised Nigerian applicants on the importance of ensuring that their DS-160 non-immigrant visa application confirmation number is accurate. Stacie pointed out that the US Mission to Nigeria will require that the non-immigrant visa application confirmation number applicants used to schedule visa interviews must match the application confirmation page that they bring to the interview.

According to the Consular Chief, effective December 2014, all potential non-immigrant applicants who do not meet this criteria will not be interviewed and will have to purchase a new fee receipt to book another appointment. “Applicants with existing appointments in December and beyond should contact the Consulate General to make any necessary changes, ”she said.

Stacie also announced the opening of the new DHL Document Collection Centre in Port Harcourt. She said the processing time for the collection centre in the new location will take one additional day.

Advising further, Stacie said that applicants who interview in Lagos or Abuja can choose to pick up their passports from the Port Harcourt new location, in addition to existing facilities in both Lagos and Abuja, stressing that passport collection via the new location will take one additional day.

This means that applicants whose visa applications are approved can expect their passports within 4 days, while Drop box applicants can expect to pick up their passports with 7 to 10 days.

Similarly, applicants who qualify for the drop box renewal program can submit their passports and applications to the Port Harcourt DHL collection center.

She said, “The US-Nigeria partnership remains strong, and the Bureau of Consular Affairs and our Consular colleagues, support that partnership by facilitating legitimate travels to the US. Between October 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013, the embassy in Abuja and Consulate in Lagos received more than 182,000 non-immigrant visa applications, the majority of which were approved”, Stacie hinted adding that, “Between October 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014, we received more than 220,000 applications. Again, the majority of those applications were approved. We hope that Nigerians’ desire to visit the US will continue to grow, and we look forward to working with our partners to allow qualified tourists and business travelers experience successful and hitch-free trips.”