How U.S. swindles Nigerians in visa application fees

Though the Federal Government pegged the exchange rate at N305.25 to a dollar, the American Consulate in Nigeria exchanged N400 to a dollar in visa application fees for one fiscal year, until yesterday.

This was deduced from the visa fees and exchange rate published on the website of the American Consulate: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/ng-niv-visafeeinfo.asp.

Consequently, at the exchange rate of N400 to a dollar, a Nigerian applying for the non-immigrant U.S. visa at $160 fee was made to pay N64, 000 instead of N48, 840. The N400-to-a dollar exchange rate allowed the U.S. Consulate to cream off excess gain of N15, 200 per applicant.

Even at the black market rate of N370 to a dollar, which was sustained for months, the consulate made an excess gain of N8, 400 on each visa granted Nigerians.

According to the U.S. Department of State, more than 163,000 immigrant and non-immigrant visas were issued to Nigerians between March 2017 and January 2018.

Guardian, March 28, 2018

 

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