The United States government has announced a suspension of immigrant visa processing for Nigeria and 74 other countries.
The US State Department said the decision will pause immigrant visa operations for nationals of the affected countries while procedures are reassessed to prevent what it described as the “abuse” of America’s immigration system.
The action is set to take effect from 21 January 2026 and will remain in force indefinitely until a review is completed.
State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott said the policy aims to curb the entry of foreign nationals “who would take welfare and public benefits” in the United States.
He said: “The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people.”
“Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.”
The suspension will apply to immigrant visas but will not affect tourist, business or other non‑immigrant visas, including those that allow travel to events such as the World Cup, according to reports.
The suspension comes against the backdrop of an overall hardening of US immigration policy under President Donald Trump.
In December 2025, the administration expanded an existing travel ban through a presidential proclamation citing national security and border control concerns. That ban introduced additional restrictions on both immigrant and certain non-immigrant visas for several countries, including Nigeria, effective January 1, 2026.
Below is the full list of countries affected by the suspension:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Bosnia
- Brazil
- Burma
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Colombia
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Cuba
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Dominica
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Iraq
- Jamaica
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Macedonia
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Republic of the Congo
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
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