The United States has announced a radical change to Nigeria’s non-immigrant visa policy, reducing the duration and conditions for most Nigerian travelers to enter the country.
On July 8, the U.S. State Department said that nearly all non-immigrant and non-parent visas issued to Nigerian citizens will now be single-entry and valid for only three months.
It said it was part of a global reciprocity revision, which has been a huge shift from previous visa terms, which can usually be conducted for multiple entries over two years or more.
Nigeria also offers a single visit visa valid for three months, only those countries that plan to visit the United States.
The Nigerian government has not commented yet.
The State Department said visa policies are still under “continuous review” and may change based on evolving diplomatic, security and immigration benchmarks.
The U.S. government said in a statement that it is working closely with Nigerian authorities to ensure the country meets key international standards.
These include:
- Publish safe travel documents
- Management visa overdue
- Sharing of secure or criminal data for public safety purposes
The United States also ordered that all foreigners applying for visas (including from Nigeria) social media accounts will be censored “any sign of hostility towards citizens, culture, government, institutions, institutions or the principles established by the United States.”
Nigerians are one of the largest number of VISA applications for students in the world.
