- Yusuf Oketola
A Nigerian man simply identified as @Shittu10 has taken to his Twitter account to hail former president Muhammadu Buhari and former minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for their efforts in making sure the United States of America Government increased the lifespan of US visa to 5-years from 2- years.
He commended Buhari and Aregbesola for the feat and prayed to God to bless them.
According to him, “5yrs visitors visa for Nigerians. Whatever you have done @raufaregbesola and @MBuhari for USA government to increase the lifespan of US visitors visa to 5-yrs from 2-yrs coupled with the initial problem of drop box stoppage at early years of #PMB administration, Almighty God will bless you for this achievement.
“God bless federal Republic of Nigeria”
Recall that the United States of America in a statement on February 27, 2023 announced that starting March 1, 2023, it would increase visitor visa validity from 24 months to 60 months for Nigerians who want to enter the United States temporarily for business and/or tourism.
The statement revealed that the visa application fee, currently at $160, would not increase as a result of the increased visa validity.
The statement further stated that increasing the visa validity was one of several initiatives taken by the United States to reduce visa appointment wait times in Nigeria.
It also noted that the US Mission continues to offer No-Interview Visa Renewals to those who meet the eligibility criteria, adding that appointments for No-Interview Visa Renewals were readily available.
READ ALSO: UK Granted 132,000 Visas To Nigerians In First Half Of 2023 – Envoy
The gesture of the embassy is sequel to the announcement by the then Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who conveyed former President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of 5years visa for America’s citizens planning to visit Nigeria
According to Aregbesola in a statement by his Media Adviser, Sola Fasure on February 24, 2023, he said, “As part of the Bilateral Agreement, the United States of America will implement a similar policy for Nigerians wishing to travel on Tourist Visas to the United States and for our diplomats and officials visiting the country. The United States will thus extend Tourist Visa Validity for Nigerian citizens to five (5) years,”
The Minister added that, “Nigerians will recall that President Muhammadu Buhari launched the new Nigeria Visa Policy (NPV) in 2020, which amongst other things promote tourism. Tourist Vis a falls under the Short Visit Visa (F5A) category. This policy is in line with Mr. President’s desire to boost cultural exchange and business between both nations.”
