Why US Cuts Visa Validity for Nigerians — Presidency Reveals

The Presidency has explained that the United States’ decision to reduce visa validity for Nigerians from five-year multiple-entry visas to three-month single-entry visas was due to two main reasons of high visa overstay rates by Nigerians and the US government’s need for reliable access to their records.

It furthered that the US government considered the visa policy adjustment part of its routine global visa reciprocity process, which may involve changes to the number of permitted entries and validity durations.

The high incidence of Nigerians overstaying their visas and the US government’s challenges in accessing records held by Nigerian authorities were referenced as the primary drivers of the decision.

President Tinubu, however, directed all federal agencies to ensure full compliance with Nigeria’s international obligations and to enhance inter-governmental cooperation in verifying the identities of individuals seeking consular services abroad.

The President called on all Nigerians to respect the immigration regulations of their host countries and to uphold the integrity of the permits and privileges granted to them under the laws of those jurisdictions.

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The FG noted that, despite the US policy change, it has continued to issue five-year multiple-entry visas to American applicants.

The Federal Government confessed that it had not received any formal communication from the UAE authorities regarding a revised visa policy.