The United States government has announced its decision to freeze Nigerians, among other countries, from applying for a green card and citizenship.
It was gathered that U.S President Donald Trump has officially expanded his restrictive measures, resulting in a functional freeze on many legal pathways for foreign nationals.
On December 16, 2025, a new Presidential Proclamation was issued, expanding the list of restricted countries from 19 to 39. Nigeria, which was previously spared from the most severe “full” bans, has now been added to a “partial restriction” list.
This classification effectively halts the issuance of immigrant visas and several categories of non-immigrant visas, including student (F and M) and exchange (J) visas.
The administration cited “national security concerns” and high visa-overstay rates as the primary drivers for these measures.
According to the proclamation, these U.S. immigration policy changes for 2025 are necessary to ensure “maximum vetting” of individuals from countries where security cooperation or document integrity is deemed deficient by U.S. officials.
A U.S government official who spoke to the press on Saturday revealed that the Trump administration has directed the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to freeze Nigerians and nationals of other countries newly added to the expanded U.S travel ban from applying for a green card and citizenship.
Among the 15 additional countries newly subjected to partial restrictions is Nigeria.
Trump had earlier, on October 31, declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern” following allegations of a Christian genocide in the country.
Below is the full list of countries revealed to be affected by the suspension of green card and citizenship applications:
Countries affected
Full travel ban
Burkina Faso
Mali
Niger
South Sudan
Syria
Laos
Sierra Leone
Partial travel restrictions
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Benin
Côte d’Ivoire
Dominica
Gabon
Gambia
Malawi
Mauritania
Nigeria
Senegal
Tanzania
Tonga
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Previously affected countries
Afghanistan
Burundi
Chad
Cuba
Republic of the Congo
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Haiti
Iran
Libya
Myanmar
Somalia
Sudan
Togo
Turkmenistan
Yemen
Venezuela
The latest suspension expands earlier restrictions announced in June, under which nationals of several countries faced partial limits on immigration processing. In the most recent proclamation, Laos and Sierra Leone — which previously faced partial restrictions — were upgraded to a full entry ban, prompting USCIS to extend the freeze on immigration petitions, including green card and citizenship applications.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that this comes after the United States Department of State recently announced an update to its non-immigrant visa policy for Nigerian citizens.
According to a press release issued by the US Embassy in Abuja, most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of Nigeria will be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period and the new visa restrictions take immediate effect.
