U.S. mission pledges commitment to improve visa services

The United States Consulate in Lagos, on Friday unveiled its newly expanded and renovated consular pavilion that seeks to improve the experiences of visa applicants and American citizens in Nigeria.

The U.S. Consulate in Lagos is one of the busiest consular sections in sub-Saharan Africa and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; the section received an average of 1,000 visa and American Citizen Services customers per day.

Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Consul General Claire Pierangelo said that the renovated consular pavilion would provide a new safe space for visa applicants to socially distance while waiting for their appointment.

She said that the Consulate was working hard to reschedule visa applicants that were affected by the pandemic, adding that the new consular pavilion would go a long way in helping achieve this goal.

“For most Nigerians and U.S. citizens in Nigeria, their main interaction with the U.S. Consulate is through our consular section.

“The consular customer experience is something we continuously improve on and this new pavilion is an example of that effort.

“From the pavilion to the interview, we want our customers to have a positive experience,” Pierangelo said.

In her remarks, Liliane Hudspeth, Consular Chief noted that the new consular pavilion offered visitors a larger, more comfortable covered waiting area, protection from sun, rain, and inclement weather as well as a great view of the Lagos lagoon.

She added that the consular section had introduced a range of measures to meet the increased expectation of safety.

“We have put in place safety measures that not only protect our visa applicants but also consular staff who serve those applicants,” Hudspeth said.

William Bridgeland, Management Officer lauded the cooperation between the U.S. Consulate Facility maintenance team and the local Nigerian construction contractor.

“Over the past six months, our team and the Nigerian contractor have worked tirelessly to construct this comfortable waiting area and we thank them for a job well done,” Bridgeland said.