By Taiwo Scholarstica
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has announced the immediate disengagement of Online Integrated Solutions (OIS Services) as the operator of Nigeria’s Visa Application and Submission Centres in the United States.
The development was disclosed in a public notice posted on the service’s official X account on Thursday.
Acording to the notice, the agency urged prospective travellers and Nigerians residing in the United States to take note of the new arrangement.
“The Nigeria Immigration Service hereby informs the general public, particularly prospective travellers and Nigerians residing in the United States of America who may require a visa to enter Nigeria, that Online Integrated Solution (OIS SERVICES), the operator of Nigeria’s Visa Application and Submission Centres in the United States, has officially been disengaged from the collection and submission of visa applications on behalf of the Nigerian Mission, effective immediately,” the statement read.
According to the NIS, all applicants seeking Nigerian visas are now required to submit their applications directly at the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, D.C., or at the Consulates of Nigeria in New York and Atlanta until further notice.
The Consulate General of Nigeria in New York also confirmed the development on its official website, informing prospective applicants, including Nigerians living in the diaspora, that OIS “has discontinued the collection and submission of visa applications on behalf of the Consulate.”
Before its disengagement, OIS Services served as the outsourced visa application centre for Nigerian diplomatic missions across several cities in the United States, including Washington, D.C., Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles and New Jersey. The company handled biometric enrolment and the submission of visa application documents for applicants.
As of press time, neither the Nigeria Immigration Service nor Nigerian diplomatic missions in the United States has disclosed the reason for ending the company’s role, leaving the circumstances surrounding the decision unclear.