Femi Ashekun/
The United States Embassy in Nigeria has quietly begun revoking valid visas previously issued to Nigerian citizens, leaving professionals, entrepreneurs, frequent travellers, and families stranded with disrupted plans and mounting costs.
Several affected individuals have confirmed receiving official letters from the embassy in recent weeks, instructing them to submit their passports at the consulate in Lagos or Abuja. Upon submission, their visas were summarily cancelled without explanation.
The cancellation notices, citing Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 41.122, vaguely stated that “new information became available after the visa was issued,” but provided no details, evidence, or avenues for appeal.
Among those impacted are a prominent journalist, the head of a federal government agency scheduled to deliver an international address, and an Abuja-based entrepreneur with a spotless travel record.
Others include professionals and frequent travellers who rely on visas for education, family reunions, medical treatment, and critical business engagements.
Several were forced to cancel overseas trips at short notice, refund tickets, and explain to partners why they could no longer attend important meetings.
In some cases, travellers only discovered the cancellations at airports and boarding gates, with a few briefly detained by immigration officials before being turned back.
Those affected insist they have never overstayed visas, violated immigration rules, or raised security concerns. The sudden revocations have therefore sparked growing fears of a quiet but targetted tightening of U.S. visa policy against Nigerians.
Analysts point to longstanding scrutiny of applicants from high-migration countries, with Nigeria often singled out.
Policy documents from previous U.S. administrations encouraged consular officers to apply heightened review standards to certain nationalities, raising concerns that the current wave of cancellations may be a continuation of that practice.
The development has drawn calls for urgent intervention by the Nigerian government.
Commentators argue that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should immediately lodge a formal protest and demand clarity from the American government, insisting that Nigerians who abide by immigration rules deserve transparency and fairness in their treatment.
The cancellations have already inflicted significant personal and financial losses. Careers and academic programmes have been disrupted, medical appointments missed, families separated, and international business opportunities lost.
Despite the gravity of the situation, neither the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria nor Nigerian authorities have issued a public statement addressing the wave of cancellations, leaving affected citizens in limbo.
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This is really crazy how can they gave them visa and cancelled again? The US president is really doing too much and the government is not addressing the public about it. The Nigeria government should intervene and swing into action on time.
These are attributes of a bully President Donald Trump is actually bullying the whole world and except nations unite together to retaliate, he wont stop. The law of reciprocity should be activated by every nation. Let’s see how their business moguls and expatriate workers will feel when they wake up and their permits and visas are cancelled
If several visa is been canceled, peoples money or visa fee should be refunded back to then rather than waste time and effort
Ignore america
Travel elsewhere
Why is it so important
Why is this a news
The USA and European countries often adopt a superior attitude towards Africa, which is concerning. I hope that one day, immigrants from various African countries will choose to return to their homelands, and we’ll see how these Western nations function without their contributions
And that day is very very near as i have prophesied it long time ago
Somehow, there’s an undertone of Nigerian govt acknowledgement of failure in this matter. Tinubu showed a lot of disrespect & disregard towards Trump during Trump’s campaign, even likened a popular presidential aspirant here to Trump, and Trump doesn’t forget. The man at #10 Downing Street of London, and one of his his ministers also made such disparaging insinuations but was quick to seek reconciliation once Trump won the election. But our own stubborn guy not so intelligent has remained aloof. Well, for now, wether we like it or not America hold some aces, we need her more than she needs us. The consistent bad leadership in the last 10years at least had only worsened Nigerians plight. Corruption in all shades, has kept this potentially great nation beggarly & badly deprived!
Perhaps, he, Trump is “forcing” us to stay back & “force” a visible change in our country?