The United States (US) state department has said Nigerians denied visa on or after January 20th, 2020 can now reapply for free, the State Department said on Monday.
Recall, President Joe Biden overturned Donald Trump’s travel ban on his first day in office, January 20.
The US state department spokesman, Ned Price, On Monday, March 8, has said applicants who were refused visas before January 20, 2020, must submit new applications and pay a new application fee.
”Those who were denied on or after January 20, 2020, may seek reconsideration without re-submitting their applications and do not have to pay additional fees,” Price said.
Applicants decided in the variety visa lottery prior to the current fiscal year are barred by US law from being issued visas if they have not gotten them already, he said. The variety lottery aims to accept immigrants from countries that are not normally awarded many visas.
Since December 2017, after a revamped version of the original travel ban was upheld by the US Supreme Court, some 40,000 people have been barred from accessing the US under the ban, according to state department data.
During Mr Trump’s administration, some countries were joined and others dropped from the list.
At the end of Mr Trump’s presidency, it comprised Myanmar, Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela and Yemen.