The U.S. Embassy, Abuja has denied blocking appointment dates for visa interview of Nigerians seeking to travel to that country.
The Public Affairs Department of the Embassy made this known in response to a question by a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.

The embassy said, “there has been no block on visa interviews. There are interview appointment opportunities available”, in a very short and tacit reply.

NAN reports that a visa interview is intended for a more in-depth communication between the applicant and the representative of a diplomatic office.

A citizen of a foreign country, who wishes to enter the U.S. is expected to first obtain a visa, either a non-immigrant visa for temporary stay or an immigrant visa for permanent residence.

Citizens of qualified countries may be also able to visit the U.S. without a visa under the Visa Waiver Programme.

NAN reports that on Aug. 20, some social media platforms reported that Nigerians who had applied for U.S visa could not get an appointment for an interview despite payment of Visa fees.

According to the reports, after payment, once an applicant attempts to make an interview appointment, the applicant is informed through the U.S. Embassy’s consultant website CGI INC that there are no available dates for visa appointments.