A fresh immigration setback has hit Nigerians seeking permanent residency and citizenship in the United States, following a directive by the Trump administration to suspend the processing of green card and naturalisation applications from Nigeria and several other countries.
According to a US government official quoted by CBS News on Thursday, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been instructed to freeze affected applications as part of a broader national security review of immigration screening and vetting procedures.
The move follows a proclamation signed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday expanding the US “travel ban” to cover additional countries the administration describes as high-risk due to what it called “persistent and severe deficiencies” in security vetting and information-sharing.
Nigeria is among 15 countries newly subjected to partial travel restrictions, a development that has now triggered the suspension of green card and citizenship applications linked to those countries.
Trump had earlier, on October 31, designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern,” citing allegations of targeted violence against Christians — a claim the Nigerian government has previously disputed.
Under the latest policy, countries placed under a full travel ban include Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria, Laos and Sierra Leone. Nationals from these countries face a complete halt to entry and immigration processing.
Meanwhile, Nigerians join other countries such as Angola, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia under partial restrictions, which limit immigration processing and now include a freeze on permanent residency and citizenship applications.
The suspension expands earlier measures announced in June. Notably, Laos and Sierra Leone — previously under partial restrictions — were upgraded to a full ban, prompting USCIS to widen the scope of the freeze on immigration petitions.
US officials say the suspension will remain in place pending the outcome of ongoing reviews of each affected country’s compliance with US security and vetting standards.
