The Federal Government has denied stopping the issuance of the 5-year non-immigrant multiple-entry visa for United States of American, USA, citizens, a policy the US cited as reason for the latest visa restrictions against Nigerians.
This came as the US continued its tight immigration policies with the introduction of a new $250 Visa Integrity Fee targeting mostly non-immigrant visa applicants, including students, tourists and workers visas.
It will be recalled that recently, several countries, including the US, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United Arab Emirates, UAE have introduced stricter visa restrictions against Nigerians as part of their immigration crackdown and growing protectionism among the world superpowers.
Countries that have so far restricted foreign travels for Nigerians have cited concerns around national security, economic concerns and public health issues.
Just three days ago, the US released a new visa policy, reducing non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visa duration for Nigerians to three months with single-entry permitted.
Faulting the US claims of reciprocity as the reason for its current visa policy towards Nigeria, the Presidency said that the claim does not accurately reflect the actual situation.
In a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the presidency expressed readiness to continue to engage with the US to address the unfavourable restrictions in a just and fair manner.
He said although Nigeria has an e-visa policy for citizens of the US and several other countries, the US has not reciprocated this gesture for Nigerians.
