EXCLUSIVE: US insists Nigeria takes 300,000 Venezuela deportees as condition for lifting visa restrictions
By Kunle Sanni –
The United States government has told the Federal government that the non-immigrant visa restrictions placed on Nigerian will only be lifted on the condition that the Nigerian government accepts 300,000 Venezuelan deportees, Western Post has learnt.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the demand was conveyed during a closed-door meeting between the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills and senior Nigerian government officials held in Abuja earlier this week.
“The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria told Nigerian government officials in a meeting that Nigeria should take 300,000 Venezuelan deported immigrants to get the visa restriction reviewed,” the source disclosed.
This revelation follows the U.S. government’s recent decision to reduce the validity of non-immigrant visas issued to Nigerian applicants from two years with multiple entries to three months with a single entry.
In response, the Nigerian presidency expressed strong disapproval of the change, stating that Nigeria has not altered its visa policy for American citizens, including the five-year multiple-entry visa provision still available to U.S. nationals.
On Thursday, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, publicly rejected what he described as pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to accept Venezuelan deportees, saying Nigeria would not serve as a dumping ground for migrants unrelated to its geopolitical obligations.
However, in an official statement released on Friday via its verified X (formerly Twitter) handle, the U.S.Embassy in Nigeria gave a different explanation for the policy change—one that contradicts the account provided by diplomatic sources.
“The U.S. Mission Nigeria wishes to address misconceptions about the recent reduction in visa validity for most nonimmigrant U.S. visas in Nigeria and other countries.
“This reduction is not the result of any nation’s stance on third-country deportees, introduction of e-visa policies, or affiliations with groups like BRICS.
“The reduction in validity is part of an ongoing global review of the use of U.S. visas by other countries using technical and security benchmarks to safeguard U.S. immigration systems,” the statement read.
