Many Nigerians who have gained admission into the United States (US) universities have expressed their fears, as they have not been able to successfully book visa interview appointments at the embassy and consulate in the country.
The US intakes for August and September are the ones particularly scared of their future, as they may not be able to fulfill their ambition to study abroad over the failure to secure visa interview appointments.
The Nigerian applicants unanimously said they had applied for admission for graduate and post-graduate studies into various institutions in the US earlier this year, after which they were given admission for the spring and fall admission windows. But they said even after they had paid the required fee by the US consulate, they’ve not been able to secure appointments.
“I started the process earlier this year with the hope that it should be concluded in the next three to four months but, to my surprise, the embassy did not provide a date for an interview. They usually make emergency provisions for students who need to resume before our resumption dates, but now the embassy is doing nothing to resolve the issues, which means that there are no emergency dates for us to go for appointments to be interviewed.
“This I-20 I am holding expires after the school resumes and it costs so much to get another I-20, which is another admission letter after deferring this current one. I think the US embassy needs to do something about this considering the money I have spent on this process,” an applicant identified as Francis was quoted as saying.
Another distraught applicant Tunde, who expressed his displeasure at the development, said his visa interview date was slated for December but he’s supposed to resume studies at his American school in August.
“My resumption date is August 15 and they decided to schedule my interview for November. That is like an automatic cancellation when they already told my agent not to book 60 days before resumption. We are not saying that you should give everybody a visa, but try to release the appointment dates.
“It is a conspiracy against us because they feel the Academic Staff Union of Universities (in Nigeria) is on strike and every student wants to leave the country. I have spent close to N1 million. My parents are disappointed but hopeful that everything will be sorted because it is for my betterment that they decided that I should go abroad,” he lamented.
