The US Embassy in Nigeria denies claims that Nigerians possessing valid travel documents have been refused entry into the US and forced to return home. On Thursday, the US Embassy said that the new executive order on immigration issued by President Donald Trump does not impact on Nigeria in any way, dismissing the allegations as completely false.
The US has also encouraged Nigerians with valid US visas to continue to feel free to visit the country, adding that there is no need to cancel or postpone any planned trips. The statement was issued by Abuja’s Embassy of the United States of America’s Information Office. It added that Nigeria was not among the nations named in the executive order on 6 March and that there was no prohibition against anyone with a valid US visa, with authorization from the US government, or lawful, permanent Nigerian residents, from coming into the US.
Nigerians whose reasons for visiting the US are not urgent have been advised to cancel their planned trips until the nation presented a clearer immigration policy by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Matters to President Muhammadu Buhari. This is largely because of the claims that Nigerians with valid US visas had been refused entry into the US.
Those claims have been absolutely refuted by Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He says that no reports from Nigerians or any consulates suggest any such thing has taken place.