President Donald Trump has given insight into why Nigeria has been subjected to partial travel ban which involves the suspension of immigrant visas and select nonimmigrant visa categories such as B-1, B-2, F, M and J categories.
According to the Fact Sheet issued on December 16, 2025 on Trump’s proclamation on further restriction and limiting the entry of foreign nationals, Nigeria is among the “countries with demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing to protect the Nation from national security and public safety threats.”
Specifically, the proclamation noted that Nigeria was added to the new partial travel ban list because of “radical Islamic terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State operate freely in certain parts of Nigeria, which creates substantial screening and vetting difficulties.”
In addition, “according to the Overstay Report, Nigeria had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 5.56 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 11.90 percent.”
Apart from Nigeria, the other countries who were newly added to the “partial restrictions and entry limitations” list include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
According to details of Fact Sheet: “The Proclamation includes exceptions for lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, certain visa categories like athletes and diplomats, and individuals whose entry serves U.S. national interests.
“The Proclamation narrows broad family-based immigrant visa carve-outs that carry demonstrated fraud risks, while preserving case-by-case waivers.
The Fact Sheet also explained that “the restrictions are country-specific in order to encourage cooperation with the subject countries in recognition of each country’s unique circumstances.
- Many of the restricted countries suffer from widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents and criminal records, and nonexistent birth-registration systems—systemically preventing accurate vetting.
- Some nations refuse to share passport exemplars or law-enforcement data, while others permit Citizenship-by-Investment schemes that conceal identity and bypass vetting requirements and travel restrictions.
- Some countries’ high visa-overstay rates and refusal to repatriate removable nationals demonstrate disregard for U.S. immigration laws and burden American enforcement resources.
- Terrorist presence, criminal activity, and extremist activity in several listed countries result in a general lack of stability and government control—which causes deficient vetting capabilities and poses direct risks to American citizens and interests when nationals from these countries are admitted to the United States.”
