September 2, 2025
These unexplained visa cancellations is the latest update in the brewing immigration issues between Nigeria and the United States.
Many Nigerians with valid U.S. visas are suddenly facing denied entry into America.
However, the news of these visa cancellations has remained relatively under the radar. According to Business Insider Africa, Nigerian citizens have faced refusals at the border without any prior warning that their visas are at risk.
Many Nigerians, whose work ranges from business to entertainment, as well as those with family in the States, have had their visas pulled with no explanation. According to reports, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria was able to annul these documents based on unspecified new information, a move authorized under Title 22 CFR Section 41.122.
The growing number of unexplained cancellations has already caught the attention of numerous visa holders. One traveler, Olufemi Soneye, former chief corporate communications officer of Nigeria’s national oil company, the NNPC Ltd., detailed the unexpected ordeal many encountered on their way to America.
Soneye emphasized the “humiliation” felt when visa holders saw a typically ordinary process become a frightening realization. He also noted immigration authorities detained some before returning to Nigeria.
“Each had to abruptly cancel engagements, refund tickets, and explain to partners abroad why they could no longer show up. In some cases, the humiliation has been unbearable: travelers discovering at the airport, sometimes even at boarding gates, that their visas had been quietly invalidated,” he shared to The Cable, as reported by BI Africa.
However, options to resolve the invalid visas remain limited. With no formal appeal process available, Nigerian travelers can only reapply, a time-consuming and costly endeavor that may deter many from trying. This uptick in visa revocations severely impacts African students studying in the United States, many of whom have been encouraged to limit travel as this uncertainty wages on.
The news comes as the U.S. has already placed visa limits on African travelers, citing security and immigration concerns. Under Trump’s new foreign travel policies, Nigerians seeking to enter the U.S. face restrictions to three-month, single-entry visas, an update previously covered on BLACK ENTERPRISE.
These visa cancellations could also jeopardize Nigerian businessmen’s prospects and ventures in the global markets, as well as those who have already put down professional and personal roots in America, especially since these entry refusals remain unrecognized by U.S. officials. Disgruntled Nigerian travelers feel subjected to targeted policing, furthering tensions between the two countries.
“For many, this is not just about stamps on a passport,” continued Soneye. “These visas are lifelines for education, family reunions, medical treatment, and critical business. To have them snatched away without explanation is to leave lives suspended in confusion and despair.”
In the meantime, Nigerian travelers and international students remain cautious about their international travel as they navigate these regulations under Trump.
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