The policy shift, announced via the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria’s verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday night, follows Presidential Proclamation 10998 signed by President Donald Trump. The proclamation is aimed at restricting and limiting the entry of certain foreign nationals on security grounds.
Under the directive, Nigeria is listed among 19 affected countries. Others include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The suspension, which takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 1, 2026, will apply to specific visa categories. These include nonimmigrant B-1/B-2 visitor visas as well as F, M, and J visas issued to students and exchange visitors. In addition, most immigrant visa categories will also be affected.
However, the U.S. government outlined several exemptions to the suspension. These include immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran, dual nationals applying with passports from countries not subject to the restriction, and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants who are U.S. government employees as defined under U.S. immigration law.
Other exempted groups include participants in certain major international sporting events and lawful permanent residents of the United States.
While the directive signals a tightening of U.S. immigration policy, the embassy has not yet provided details on how the suspension will be implemented in practice or whether further guidance will be issued to affected applicants ahead of the effective date.