The Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has stated that the federal government has engaged
the US government over suspension of the drop box visa regime for Nigerians
visiting America.
According to Onyema, most
of the unpleasant migrant decisions taken by some countries against Nigeria
were due ti the negative perceptions about few Nigerians who disobey the rules
of those countries.
He made this known on
Tuesday during an interactive session with the Diplomatic Correspondents on his
stewardship.
“And a lot of it is that
they released statistics to show that 10 per cent of people who overstayed
their visas globally are Nigerians. Those who do not obey the rule of other
countries’ have more negative impact on those who obeyed.
“The issue of those who
overstayed their visa is a real issue. We have engaged with the US government
over it. We are just trying to work through them and they are looking at
various alternative and solutions and to make less difficult for the genuine
visitors and the like. Things like you have to have guarantor or surety and the
like all those things are what they are trying to apply to really address this
prickly issue,” he said.
He said the ministry was
doing what it could to ensure that genuine visitors to the US are not affected
by the issue of the recent suspension of drop box for visas renewal.
“We are doing what we can
they (U.S. Embassy) told me that notwithstanding the suspension of drop box
mechanism that there would be expedited interview for certain people. “And that
there would be that flexibility to request for interview that might make it
easier for those seeking visa,” he said.
Everyone should not abuse visa rules to avoid this kind of suspension.
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