The United States Embassy has introduced updated visa interview requirements for Nigerian applicants, effective April 22, 2025.
In a statement released on Friday, the US mission emphasized that:
- All applicants attending visa interviews in Abuja and Lagos must present a DS-160 form with a confirmation barcode starting with “AA00” (AA followed by two zeroes).
- This barcode must match the one used to book the appointment online.
Applicants with mismatched barcode information will be denied entry to the Consular Section and disqualified from their scheduled interviews.
Additional guidelines:
- Applicants must make their appointment in the same location selected on the DS-160 form.
- DS-160 forms from previous applications cannot be reused.
- If there's a mismatch, applicants must log into their AVITS account at least 10 days before the interview and submit a correction request.
“If your DS-160 barcode is incorrect, you must log into your AVITS account at least 10 days before your appointment to create a support ticket requesting correction of your barcode number,” the mission added.
Applicants turned away due to barcode issues will need to resolve the problem and reschedule their appointment. If the visa fee has expired, a new payment may be required.
Also, since January 1, all applicants are required to visit the US Consulate General in Lagos twice as part of the visa application process.
