The United States of America (USA) has warned Nigerians about overstaying the authorised period granted in their visa, saying that such a violation will result in deportation and a probable permanent travel ban.
The new warning followed series of travel restrictions and visa curbs affecting Nigerians which was announced by the U.S. State Department as part of its ongoing immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump’s administration.
In a post on its X handle on Monday, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria said: “If you remain in the United States beyond your authorised period of stay, you could be deported and could face a permanent ban on travelling to the United States in the future.”
Last week, the U.S. Mission announced an update to its visa reciprocity policy for Nigerians, limiting the non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visa to three three-month single entry, citing reciprocity policy, visa overstay, national security and wrong documentations as part of the reasons.
It further announced a fresh $250 mandatory integrity fee for students, workers and tourists’ visas.
In addition to the Visa Integrity Fee, the bill introduces several non-waivable travel-related surcharges.
These include a $24 I-94 fee, a $13 Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) fee for Visa Waiver Program travelers, According to the rule, the surcharge would apply to visa categories, including B-1/B-2 (tourist/business), F and M (students), H-1B (workers), and J (exchange visitors).Under the new rule, only diplomatic applicants in categories A and G would be exempted. The law states unequivocally that in fourteen instances.
The two visa curbs were announced last week after the US mandated social media screening as part of the vetting process for applicants seeking to study in the States.
It had mandated applicants to list all their social media usernames and also remove the privacy settings to allow proper screening.
In the post announcing the measure, the US Embassy in Nigeria said: “Every visa adjudication is a national security decision. Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their personal social media accounts to ‘public’ to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States.
The full statement on the U.S. Embassy website on July 8, 2025 said:
“The United States Department of State has announced updates to its reciprocal non-immigrant visa policy, impacting several countries, including Nigeria. Effective immediately, most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of Nigeria will be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period.
“Those U.S. non-immigrant visas issued prior to July 8, 2025, will retain their status and validity. We wish to underscore, that as is standard globally, visa reciprocity is a continuous process and is subject to review and change at any time, such as increasing or decreasing permitted entries and duration of validity. You can view the latest information on visa reciprocity schedules for all countries at travel.state.gov.
“U.S. visa criteria and standards are designed to protect the integrity of U.S. immigration systems. These standards are based on global technical and security benchmarks. The U.S. Mission is working with the Government of Nigeria to ensure that Nigeria can meet the criteria.
“Examples of standard criteria include:
- Secure Travel Documents: Ensuring countries issue secure travel documents with verified traveler identities.
- Visa Overstay Management: Implementing measures to limit overstays by travelers on U.S. visas.
- Information Sharing: Sharing relevant security and/or criminal record information to protect public safety.
“The United States values its longstanding relationship with Nigeria and remains committed to expanding our partnership based on mutual respect, shared security priorities, and economic opportunity, keeping both our countries safer and stronger. We commend the ongoing efforts by the Government of Nigeria’s immigration and security agencies to meet standards of international best practices. We continue to engage with Nigerian government officials to address the remaining challenges.
“Nigerian travelers are encouraged to respect and adhere to the terms of their visas, and ensure travel documents are authentic, accurate, and up to date. The United States remains a committed partner in deepening people-to-people ties with Nigeria via business, educational, and cultural exchanges. We look forward to continued cooperation at all levels with the Nigerian public and government officials to ensure safe and lawful travel between the United States and all countries.”
President Trump has been embarking on strict immigration policy since taking office, enforcing the removal of illegal immigrants from the US.
Trump signed a swathe of executive orders calling for an increased and very strict screening process during the visa-granting process to ensure that those given visas and allowed to enter the United States do not wish to harm citizens.
He further ordered continued screening of immigrants and ensuring that those already within the U.S. do not aid what he deemed as foreign terrorist groups and that they do not bear hostility towards the country.