The US government has expanded its restrictions on Nigerians travelling to the US, including suspending legal immigration applications for Nigerians.
This means Nigerians can no longer make legal applications for green cards, naturalisation, or any other permanent residency pathways. Processing of those applications has been paused.
CBS News reported on Thursday that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expanding its immigration suspension cases to include countries in President Donald Trump’s recent proclamation.
PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday reported that the proclamation imposed travel restrictions on several developing countries.
The US imposed partial travel restriction on Nigerians, suspending entry into the US for nationals seeking to enter as immigrants, or on B‑1, B‑2, B‑1/B‑2, F, M, and J visas.
The latest suspension of green card and citizenship applications will also affect nationals of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. These countries had received a complete US travel ban earlier this week.
It will also impact people from Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The earlier proclamation added 15 countries to the seven countries that had been placed under partial restrictions in June.
These countries are also among those whose nationals can no longer apply for US citizenship or permanent residency.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the US said travel bans are a way to protect the country against foreign terrorists and other security threats.
US authorities also claimed they found it difficult to properly check or verify the backgrounds or security risks people from those countries pose.
The administration said the countries had a “general lack of stability and government control,” which made vetting difficult.
In a post on X, USCIS further noted that it was “conducting a comprehensive review of anyone from anywhere who poses a threat to the U.S., including those identified in the President’s latest proclamation to restore law and order in our nation’s immigration system.”
The Nigerian government has not reacted to the latest US action but had repeatedly stated its intention to partner with the US in resolving grey areas.
