The United States has announced its long awaited travel restrictions on Nigerians. The travel restrictions also affect five other countries.
They are People from Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Eritrea, Sudan and Tanzania. They will now be blocked from obtaining certain types of visas though they will still be able to visit the US.
An official said the new measures were the result of failures by the six countries to meet US security and information-sharing standards.
“These countries, for the most part, want to be helpful but for a variety of different reasons simply failed to meet those minimum requirements that we laid out,” acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told reporters on Friday.
He said officials would work with the countries on bolstering their security requirements to help them get off the list.
The US said it would suspend the issuance of visas that can lead to permanent residency for nationals of Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Nigeria.
Of the new nationalities facing visa restrictions, Nigerians account for the most immigration to the US.
The US State Department issued about 7,900 immigrant visas to Nigerians in fiscal year 2018, which began in October 2017.
President Donald Trump first introduced a travel ban in 2017. It currently closes US borders to citizens from seven countries, most with Muslim majorities.
Source: BBC.
