US Visa: What Nigerians Must Know About Travel Ban – America
The United States has declared that the visa ban placed on Nigeria was a temporary measure that could be lifted if the Nigerian government meets certain conditions.
The President Donald Trump administration imposed the immigration visa ban on Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, Myanmar, Eritrea and Kyrgyzstan on 31 January.
It was done to “address security concerns in the way the banned countries track their own citizens, share information with the U.S. and cooperate on immigration matters,” the US had explained.
But while clarifying the ban during a visit to Nigeria’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, in Abuja on Tuesday, the US ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, said that students visa were not included.
“I need to clarify something for you here, the immigrant visa ban does not affect people who are currently resident in the United States,” she said.
“It does not cancel the status of anyone who currently is in the United States.
“What Secretary Pompey said was something that was meant to be temporary.
“And it is about problems with information sharing which are investigable, achievable and resolveable and we look forward to Nigeria in a very short time being able to meet those information sharing goal so that the decision can be reviewed.”
She also said, “I think for Nigeria, you have an interesting story about diversification of your economy and prosperity of your economy and its people.
“You know Nigerians are so well known at home and abroad for their industriousness.
“You know you hear about how much of the activity in the informal sector. So I wonder how you think about capturing that entrepreneurial spirit and to bringing it into the formal sector in service and to enhance employment.”
As for the Nigerian minister, Ngige, he said that the inclusion of the country in the list of countries under the US travel ban was shocking.
“Some of these Nigerians are medical doctors, engineers and people with high level of proficiency in oil and gas fields,” the former Anambra governor said.
“They were all part of the Nigerian residents in the US and it came to us as a rude shock when the US government banned Nigerians and put us in the list of those countries whose residency status have been cancelled.”
He urged Leonard to discuss the visa ban issue with her home government with a view to reaching an understanding and have it reversed.
