The Federal Government of Nigeria has successfully resolved the passport production crisis in the United States, leading to the resumption of passport services at the three Nigerian Missions.
Following a Public Notice issued by the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington DC, all passport applicants who were previously scheduled for biometric capture are now expected to visit the Mission on Monday.
“This is to inform all passport applicants scheduled for biometric capture from Monday, November 13th to Thursday 16th, that their appointments have been rescheduled,” the notice stated. “The new dates are from Monday 20th to Wednesday 22nd, 2023. Affected applicants are advised to visit the Embassy on any of the specified days.”
Explaining the change in schedule, the Embassy cited an internet outage as the reason and expressed regret for any inconveniences caused.
A source within the Embassy, speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria in New York on Sunday, confirmed the resolution of the technical issue over the weekend.
“The system is fully operational again. The experts worked tirelessly to resolve it, and we are back to business as usual,” the source disclosed. “We conducted a test run yesterday (Saturday), and the system is operational at all centers, including New York and Atlanta.”
The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, clarified that the problem stemmed from an internet-related issue rather than a server malfunction. They further explained that the server’s connection to Atlanta and New York meant that any disruption at the Embassy’s internet connectivity would affect the other Mission centers as well.
According to the source, experts from Nigeria collaborated with local ICT experts at the Embassy to rectify the issue, resulting in the swift restoration of services.
Nigeria operates three Missions in the United States, namely the Consulates-General of Nigeria in New York and Atlanta, and the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington DC. The Embassy in Washington DC serves as the sole passport production center in the U.S., while the Consulates undertake biometrics at their respective Missions and subsequently transmit the data to Washington DC for passport production.
Prior to the resolution, the Organisation for the Advancement of Nigerians (OAN) and its 20 partner organizations in New York had called on the Federal Government to supply passport production machines to the Missions in Atlanta and New York.
“The New York consulate, which covers the highest number of states and receives the largest number of applicants from across the United States, is in need of passport printing machines,” the associations emphasized in a joint statement.
The New York Jurisdiction encompasses 20 states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont, and Pennsylvania.
With the successful resolution of the passport production crisis, Nigerian citizens in the United States can once again access essential passport services without undue delays or disruptions.
