The United States has slapped four African countries with additional visa restrictions. These countries include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Cameroon. According to the new restrictions, citizens of these countries who hold nonimmigrant visas will now be restricted to staying in the United States for a period not exceeding three months.
The 3-month single entries are a downgrade from the six month limit that is usually permitted for non-immigrant visas and non-diplomatic visas. At the same time, the United States Department of States will henceforth only allow a single entry for persons from these countries.
“Effective immediately, most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of [Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana and Cameroon] will be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period,” the Department of State said in statements.
“U.S visa criteria and standards are designed to protect the integrity of U.S immigration systems. These standards are based on global technical and security benchmarks. The U.S. Mission is working with [these countries to ensure they] can meet the criteria.”
The statements listed the standard criteria as including;
- Secure Travel Documents: Ensuring countries issue secure travel documents with verified traveler identities.
- Visa Overstay Management: Implementing measures to limit overstays by travelers on U.S. visas.
- Information Sharing: Sharing relevant security and/or criminal record information to protect public safety.
The new restrictions come less than a month after the United States added 36 countries including Uganda and Tanzania to a list of countries that are facing possible ban from traveling to the U.S.
READ MORE: Trump bans nationals from 7 African countries from traveling to U.S
Out of the countries in this list, 25 are in Africa. The African countries in the list include Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The other countries in the list include several in Asia and the Caribbean. These countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia all of which are in the Caribbean, and Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, and Syria from Asia, as well as and three countries in Oceania namely Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
