At least 5,000 Nigerian immigrants face indefinite delays following new visa restrictions imposed on Nigeria and 74 other countries by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, according to analysis based on U.S. consulate data.
Data from the US consulate in Lagos show that 5,626 immigrant visas were issued to Nigerians in 2023, up from 4,219 in 2022—an increase of 1,407 visas within a year. In 2024, a total of 70,621 Nigerians received U.S. immigrant and non-immigrant visas, with 7,308 obtaining immigrant visas specifically.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed the development, stating: “The State Department is pausing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries.” The pause began on January 21 and will continue indefinitely until an unspecified review is complete.
The State Department announced the policy on social media platform X on Wednesday, claiming the affected migrants “take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.” The post read: “The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people.”
The policy forms part of a wider entry suspension affecting countries regarded by Washington as posing screening and vetting difficulties or producing migrants who rely excessively on public benefits. The 75 affected countries include 27 African nations, 22 Asian countries, 8 European nations, 13 North American and Caribbean countries, three South American nations and one Oceania country.
Among the African countries affected are Algeria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Yemen.
The latest development comes barely a week after the Trump administration imposed a visa bond requirement of up to $15,000 on nationals from 38 countries, including Nigeria, effective January 21, 2026. The policy targets countries with high visa overstay rates and security concerns.
State Department data show that global immigrant visa issuance climbed to 612,258 in 2024, up from 562,976 in 2023. The State Department stressed that visas already issued before the effective date of the proclamation would not be revoked under the new policy. However, Nigerians outside the United States without valid visas at the time of implementation would be directly affected by the entry suspension.
Former Nigerian Ambassador to Mexico, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, described the sweeping ban as a contradiction of America’s long-standing advocacy for the free movement of people and ideas. “It is unfortunate that the apostle of globalisation is the one now engaging what I’ll call a reverse gear as far as the globalisation phenomenon is concerned. Even as he views this as being in America’s interest to keep some countries or citizens of certain countries out of his national territory,” he said.
He criticized the scale of the measure, stating: “Migration and immigration are as old as the human race, and for the US under Donald Trump to begin to rev up the anti-migration, anti-immigration policies which we are witnessing now is not helping to solve matters as far as human-to-human contacts are concerned.”
Former Ambassador Godknows Igali acknowledged Washington’s sovereign right to set its immigration policies, but urged the US to weigh the implications for bilateral relations. “Well, it’s America’s right, America has the right. These are issues of the right of countries. They are determining the conditions of their visas, but again, you have to consider your relationship with other countries. Between Nigeria and the US, we have a very robust relationship that has gone on for many, many decades,” he said.
He emphasized Nigerians’ positive contributions to US society, noting: “Nigerians have given a good account of themselves in the US, very disciplined, very hardworking. Almost all Nigerians are doing very well in the US. So, they are not a liability to the system.” He added: “Most Nigerians who go to the US are skilled; we don’t go there as a liability. We are hardworking, we are creative, we are industrious, we are enterprising.”
Igali urged sustained diplomacy, saying: “We advise the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to sustain discussion with them so that Nigeria can be removed from that list.”
Foreign affairs analyst Charles Onunaiju said the latest restriction reflects a deeper shift in US domestic politics and global posture. “If you look at the United States and see what’s going on there with the so-called ICE picking up people in the streets, you could see chaos in US cities with these issues about immigration. So, it is not a surprise the extent to which the United States could go,” he said.
Onunaiju warned that the present period “is not a normal time” in US foreign relations, observing that even close allies have been affected. “Recently, the United States imposed a visa ban on key European officials. So, I think the worst has not happened yet. There could be more tightening. People should anticipate that. Mr Trump campaigned and won on the basis of extremist anti-immigration posturing, and he is leveraging that,” he stated.
He added that Nigerians should “prepare for the worst”, stressing that the US President had recently stated that he did not recognize international law and was guided only by his “private morality.” “We have to acknowledge that this is not a normal time and anything is possible between the United States and the rest of the world,” Onunaiju said.
In December, the US previously announced a partial visa ban on Nigeria alongside other countries, citing persistent security challenges and overstays on temporary visas. The proclamation referenced radical extremist activity in parts of Nigeria, stating that such conditions “create substantial screening and vetting difficulties.”