Visa Ban: “We Informed Nigeria Of Impending Action Since March 2019” – US

The United States of America government says it notified all foreign governments of a change in its performance metrics for identity-management and information sharing criteria on March 11, 2019.

In a proclamation published on the White House website, the US said Nigeria and the five other affected countries were among the worst-performing in the world.

However, it said there are prospects for near-term improvements for the six countries.

“The process began on March 11, 2019, when the United States government formally notified all foreign governments (except for Iran, Syria, and North Korea) about the refined performance metrics for the identity-management and information-sharing criteria,” the proclamation read.

“DHS identified the worst-performing countries for further interagency review and for an assessment of the potential impact of visa restrictions.

“In addition, the United States government, led by the department of state, continued or increased engagements with many countries about those countries’ deficiencies.

“A number of foreign governments sent senior officials to Washington, D.C., to discuss those issues, explore potential solutions, and convey views about obstacles to improving performance.

“As a result of this engagement, one country made sufficient improvements in its information-sharing and identity-management practices and was removed from consideration for travel restrictions.”

In the proclamation, Donald Trump, the US president, said the acting secretary of homeland security submitted a report on September 13 recommending the actions to be taken on the countries identified including “incentivizing those foreign governments to improve their practices”.

The proclamation imposes a ban on the issuance of immigrant visas to Nigerian passport holders.

Chad was removed from the travel restriction list for making sufficient improvement in its information-sharing and identity-management practices.

(i)  Nigeria does not comply with the established identity-management and information-sharing criteria assessed by the performance metrics.  Nigeria does not adequately share public-safety and terrorism-related information, which is necessary for the protection of the national security and public safety of the United States.  Nigeria also presents a high risk, relative to other countries in the world, of terrorist travel to the United States.  Nigeria is an important strategic partner in the global fight against terrorism, and the United States continues to engage with Nigeria on these and other issues.  The Department of State has provided significant assistance to Nigeria as it modernizes its border management capabilities, and the Government of Nigeria recognizes the importance of improving its information sharing with the United States.  Nevertheless, these investments have not yet resulted in sufficient improvements in Nigeria’s information sharing with the United States for border and immigration screening and vetting.

(ii)  The entry into the United States of nationals of Nigeria as immigrants, except as Special Immigrants whose eligibility is based on having provided assistance to the United States Government, is hereby suspended.

Red the full proclamation HERE

President Muhammadu Buhari has set up a committee to study and address the issues that made the US place visa restrictions on Nigerian passport holders.