The US revised its visa interaction policy for Nigeria and Ghana, restricting tourists, business and academic travelers to a single entry visa valid for three months, according to a notification from the US Embassy in Nigeria on Tuesday.
The new rules apply to non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visa applicants. It will take effect immediately and must adhere to the new rules.
According to the statement, the US is assessing its relationship with Nigeria and will continue to commit to expanding U.S.-Nigeria's cooperation.
“As globally standard, we would like to emphasize that Visa's interactions are an ongoing process and are subject to review and change at any time, such as an increase or increase in terms of validity or duration of permitted entries,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, Business Insider Africa reported that Ghana will also be affected by the new rules. Like Nigeria, most Ghanaians are currently limited to a single input visa that is valid for three months.
Any US non-immigrant visa issued by July 8, 2025 will maintain status and validity in accordance with the statement.
Until the November 2024 election, US President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to reduce immigration to the US.
Tuesday's visa revision will affect 12 countries including Chad, the Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan, following the Trump administration's travel ban announced on June 5th.
A week later, the US State Department cable suggested that 36 more countries could face a travel ban if issues related to terrorist, anti-Semitism and anti-American activities were not addressed within 60 days.
Both Nigeria and Ghana were on the list of countries facing potential travel bans.
