New Limits For Nigerian Travelers Squeeze Families And Businesses In U.s.

The State Department’s move to limit Nigerian travelers to three-month, single-entry visas past week has Nigerian Americans and migrant communities scrambling to navigate nan abrupt displacement successful recreation argumentation and its rippling effects.

The tighter restrictions use only to nonimmigrant and nondiplomatic travelers, who were antecedently allowed multiple entries to nan U.S., for 5 years successful astir cases, per visa application.

Olatunde Johnson, a 27-year-old photographer, said that his aunts and uncles successful Nigeria tally aggregate Airbnb rentals successful Chicago that will now beryllium tougher for them to monitor, and that he feels incapable to thief because he lives successful New Jersey.

“They will person to support reapplying and doing that again. Also, you’re losing money successful nan process of that. So it’s conscionable unnecessary,” he said.

The State Department justified nan decision, saying it was aimed astatine reaching “visa reciprocity” betwixt nan U.S. and Nigeria. However, nan Nigerian government denied that location is an imbalance and said its narration pinch nan U.S. has been reciprocal and still is.

“Contrary to misinformation and clone news circulating online, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ne'er stopped issuing 5-year multiple-entry visas for US citizens, successful accordance pinch nan rule of subsisting bilateral agreements and reciprocity,” nan authorities said successful a statement.

The State Department did not respond to a petition for remark from NBC News.

Rep. Jonathan Jackson, a Democrat from Illinois who represents portion of Chicago and who serves connected nan House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee connected Africa, touted nan city’s “strong and move Nigerian diaspora.”

“Many person heavy roots present and arsenic heavy ties to Nigeria — family, businesses and investments,” Jackson said. “When we make it harder for them to recreation backmost and forth, to negociate their affairs, aliases moreover conscionable to sojourn loved ones, we are not conscionable impacting individuals, we are weakening nan very bonds that enrich some our nations.”

The State Department’s move is portion of a multipronged effort nether nan Trump management to crack down connected immigration to nan United States successful general. This includes a afloat prohibition connected travelers from 12 countries and a partial prohibition connected 7 others. Nigerians are not banned from entering nan U.S., but nan restrictions use mostly to travelers from countries successful Africa and nan Middle East.

Johnson said he thinks nan visa determination by nan Trump management is “spreading retired a full batch of accent and unnecessary pain.” He said getting a visa to nan U.S. had already been difficult for Africans, and nan management is making introduction requirements moreover much strict.

As a region, African countries had nan highest complaint of F-1 student visa denials successful nan world from 2015 to 2022, according to a study released past twelvemonth by Shorelight and nan President’s Alliance connected Higher Education and Immigration, some nonprofits that support world students connected U.S. campuses. Last year, 46.5% of Nigerian applicants for impermanent business visas were denied, according to State Department records.

Bobby Digi Olisa's family often visits nan U.S. from Nigeria but caller restrictions will limit their expertise to participate nan country.Courtesy Bobby Digi Olisa

Bobby Digi Olisa, 51, who lives successful New York, said nan caller restrictions will impact really often he sees his siblings, who aren’t U.S. citizens and unrecorded successful Nigeria. He is peculiarly concerned astir his siblings’ expertise to spend aggregate visa applications each twelvemonth to sojourn nan U.S.

“It will origin hardship pinch each of nan ballooning costs,” he said.

Currently visa applicants must salary a $185 interest to participate nan U.S. for tourist, business, student and speech visas, among others. Starting Oct. 1, location will beryllium an further $250 Visa Integrity Fee, which will summation pinch inflation, per nan Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Ovigwe Eguegu, a argumentation expert astatine Development Reimagined, an world consulting patient pinch a attraction connected Africa, said complaints complete family reunification from Olisa and others will not put capable unit connected nan U.S. authorities for it to reverse course, but he thinks it will impact really nan Nigerian authorities responds.

Eguegu said families for illustration Olatunde Johnson’s will beryllium affected owed to their semipermanent ties to nan U.S., which require astir 5 entries passim nan twelvemonth for business. However, he cautions, “wait clip for visa processing is very, very long, and it costs a superior magnitude of money, too. So nan penchant has ever been for aggregate re-entry complete a agelong play of time, arsenic opposed to azygous introduction capped astatine 3 months of a maximum stage.”

Jackson said nan restrictions, much broadly, weakened people-to-people ties and undermined effective diplomacy.

“My travels person taught maine that existent diplomacy and beardown world relations are built connected understanding, spot and facilitating quality connection,” Jackson said. “We must find a measurement to reside immoderate morganatic information concerns without undermining nan captious economical and taste bridges that nexus communities for illustration Chicago pinch Nigeria.”

Johnson’s vexation is being echoed passim nan world toward nan Trump administration. “We nan people, wherever you are, we’re ever nan ones losing erstwhile nan authorities is playing games,” he told NBC News.

But contempt nan “pain” inflicted connected Nigerians, Olisa stressed: “This excessively shall pass, we shall overcome.”