US Suspends Immigration and Citizenship Applications For Nigerians, Others

The United States government has temporarily suspended legal immigration and citizenship applications submitted by Nigerians and nationals of several other countries newly added to its travel ban proclamation, according to a report by CBS News.

The move affects immigrants from parts of Africa and Asia and represents a further tightening of legal immigration under measures introduced by the Trump administration earlier this month. Many of those impacted are believed to be legal residents already living in the United States who are seeking to adjust their immigration status or apply for US citizenship.

Earlier in December, the administration directed US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to pause the processing of all immigration petitions, including applications for permanent residency and naturalisation, filed by nationals of the 19 countries initially listed under the travel ban announced in June. The directive followed the Thanksgiving week shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., an attack reportedly carried out by an Afghan national.

The administration also halted decisions on asylum applications handled by USCIS and suspended the processing of immigration and visa requests from Afghan nationals.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump expanded the travel ban to include 20 additional countries, fully barring entry for citizens of five nations and imposing partial restrictions on travellers and immigrants from 15 others. A US official, speaking anonymously to CBS News, said USCIS has now extended the suspension of immigration cases to cover nationals of the newly added countries.

Under the expanded policy, nationals of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria are subject to full entry bans. Partial restrictions apply to citizens of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The suspension had previously applied to nationals of Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Laos, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Yemen and Venezuela. In the latest update, Laos and Sierra Leone were moved from partial restrictions to a full entry ban.

In a social media post on Thursday, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow appeared to confirm the expansion, saying the agency was conducting a comprehensive review of individuals deemed to pose security risks, including those identified in the president’s latest proclamation.

Taken together, the updated travel ban affects nationals from more than 60 per cent of African countries and about 20 per cent of countries worldwide. The Trump administration has defended the policy as necessary to protect national security and address concerns over vetting processes in the affected countries.

The decision has drawn criticism in Nigeria, where commentators and public figures have described the move as unfair and damaging to diplomatic and economic relations. Former senator Shehu Sani said the ban sent “a clear signal that migrants from developing countries are no longer welcome.”