By Ochiaka Ugwu
A media practitioner, Chukwudi Enekwechi has faulted perceived maltreatment of Nigerians seeking United States Visa by United States Embassy officials in Abuja.
Enekwechi who in a letter to this medium narrated his ugly experience in the hands of United State Visa Consular Officer, stated it was perplexing and undiplomatic for the US Embassy to be treating Nigerians, allegedly with disdain, contempt and total disregard.
Enekwechi said his complaint was as a result of the way and manner Nigerians seeking to obtain visas and travel to the United States, even for a two weeks’ vacation were treated at the United States embassy Abuja, Nigeria.
Continuing, he alleged that most visa applicants were subjected to psychological and physical torture, stating that US visa interview amounts to outright waste of time and resources.
He wondered how one could describe a situation where a visa applicant had prepared over a long period of time, and attended the interview with the relevant documents only for the consular officer to disregard all the documents and simply use a rule of the thumb or discretion to deny applicant visa within minutes.
He lamented the act of consular officers not taking a glimpse or cursory look at the documents that accompanied the visa applications, but usually hellbent in denying Nigerians visa for no justifiable reason, irrespective of reason for travelling to the United States.
He alleged of an unwritten and unannounced policy of denying Nigerians visas without any justification, making it possible for about ninety per cent of applicants to be denied visas daily.
He therefore, called on the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken and US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard M. Mills Jr to urgently intervene to halt this ugly trend.
According to Elekwachi, “A typical example here will suffice. A Nigerian travelled to the United States about twenty-four years ago, and based on some verifiable reasons overstayed his visa. On his voluntary return to Nigeria, he reapplied for a visitor visa, and was told by the consular that he could not be granted a visa until after ten years if his economic condition has changed for the better.
“Now twenty-four years later, he reapplied with all the documentary evidence to support his application, and only for the US consular to shift the goal post in the middle of the game.
“This time they claimed that the country (that is Nigeria) from which the applicant planned to travel to the United States, there was no guarantee to show that he will leave the United States and return to his home country after the visit.
“What a ridicule of a partner country with which America has enjoyed diplomatic and trade relations for several decades! This is not only an insult to Nigeria as a sovereign country, but a judgmental decision deriding Nigeria as a country where people cannot, and do not live happily” he lamented.
