Nigeria, 35 Other Countries Risk Travel Ban- US
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has begun moves to impose a general visa ban on Nigerians, along with citizens of 35 other countries, citing national security and identity verification concerns.
An internal memo obtained by the Washington Post and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlines a proposal to restrict visa issuance or entry into the United States for nations that fail to meet newly established benchmarks set by the State Department.
According to the memo, affected countries must comply with the new requirements within 60 days or face sweeping travel restrictions. The list includes a significant number of African nations such as Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Egypt, among others.
The Trump administration said the nations identified either lack reliable government systems for issuing identity documents or are plagued by widespread document fraud.
In some cases, the US cited the absence of a cooperative central authority capable of providing credible civil records.
Also on the proposed list are several small island nations and Asian countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The memo mandates all affected countries to submit an initial compliance action plan to the State Department by Wednesday.
This latest move follows an earlier proposal in March, where Trump considered placing 43 countries under varying levels of visa scrutiny.
At the time, Nigeria was not included. Those countries were divided into red, orange, and yellow categories,with the red group facing complete bans, the orange group experiencing strict visa limits, and the yellow group given time to resolve specific issues.
Nigeria, 35 Other Countries Risk Travel Ban- US is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
