The United States Embassy in Nigeria has quietly begun revoking valid visas previously issued to Nigerian citizens, leaving professionals, entrepreneurs, frequent travellers, and families stranded with disrupted plans and mounting costs.
Former Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, Olufemi Soneye, made this know in an article yesterday titled: ‘The quiet revocation: Why is the U.S. silently cancelling Nigerians’ visas?’
According to him, several affected individuals have confirmed receiving official letters from the embassy in recent weeks, instructing them to submit their passports at the consulate in Lagos or Abuja. Upon submission, their visas were summarily cancelled without explanation.
The cancellation notices, citing Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 41.122, vaguely stated that “new information became available after the visa was issued,” but provided no details, evidence, or avenues for appeal.
Among those impacted are a prominent journalist, the head of a federal government agency scheduled to deliver an international address, and an Abuja-based entrepreneur with a spotless travel record.
Others include professionals and frequent travellers who rely on visas for education, family reunions, medical treatment, and critical business engagements.
Several were forced to cancel overseas trips at short notice, refund tickets, and explain to partners why they could no longer attend important meetings.
In some cases, travellers only discovered the cancellations at airports and boarding gates, with a few briefly detained by immigration officials before being turned back.
Despite the gravity of the situation, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria nor Nigerian authorities have issued a public statement addressing the wave of cancellations, leaving affected citizens in limbo.
Those affected insist they have never overstayed visas, violated immigration rules, or raised security concerns. The sudden revocations have therefore sparked growing fears of a quiet but targetted tightening of U.S. visa policy against Nigerians.
Analysts point to longstanding scrutiny of applicants from high-migration countries, with Nigeria often singled out.
Policy documents from previous U.S. administrations encouraged consular officers to apply heightened review standards to certain nationalities, raising concerns that the current wave of cancellations may be a continuation of that practice.
The Guardian
