US Reduces Visa Validity to Three-month for Nigerians

The US government has announced that most Nigerians applying for non-immigrant visas will now only get single-entry three-month visas.

The US Mission in Nigeria said this was to reciprocate Nigeria’s visa policy for Americans.

“Effective today, most non-immigrant & non-official visas for Nigerian citizens will be single-entry with 3-month validity…” the embassy said.

The US used to issue a two-year visa validity with multiple entries to many Nigerians before this new policy. Many others got a five-year visa with multiple entries.

However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, the embassy described the new policy as part of its global visa reciprocity process, which addresses the treatment American citizens receive in other countries.

In mid-June, the Trump administration was considering imposing a visa ban and other travel restrictions on citizens of Nigeria and about 35 other countries.

This policy is considered a part of the government’s effort to crack down on immigration.

The US also recently initiated a policy that mandated the review of social media accounts of foreign students from Nigeria and other countries applying for student visas.

As a result, consular officers are now on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the US, its “government, culture, institutions or founding principles.”

“It is an expectation from American citizens that their government will make every effort to make our country safer, and that is exactly what the Trump Administration is doing every single day,” the State Department said.