The United States Mission in Nigeria on Friday denied suggestions that Washington’s recent decision to reduce visa validity for Nigerians was in retaliation for some actions of the Nigerian government.
The US embassy announced on Tuesday that it had reduced visa validity for non-immigrant Nigerian applicants from five years to three months, citing reciprocity for its action.
But in what appeared to be a u-turn yesterday, the mission said it was not a reciprocal action but “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.”
It said in a statement that speculations that the reduction in visa validity was “the result of any nation’s stance on third-country deportees, introduction of e-visa policies, or affiliations with groups like BRICS” were untrue.
The statement said: “The U.S. Mission Nigeria wishes to address misconceptions about the recent reduction in visa validity for most non-immigrant 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.
“We value our longstanding partnership with Nigeria and remain committed to working closely with the Nigerian public and government officials to help them meet those criteria and benchmarks, thereby ensuring safe, lawful, and mutually beneficial travel between our nations.”
Foreign Minister, Yusuf Tuggar had said on Thursday that the US was “mounting considerable pressure on African countries to accept Venezuelans to be deported from the US, some straight out of prison.”
He said Nigeria, with its own population of over 230 million, was not prepared to accept Venezuelan deportees.
He added:”It will be difficult for a country like Nigeria to accept Venezuelans prisoners into Nigeria. We have enough problems of our own, we cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria, for crying out loud.”
He said Nigeria with a population of over 230 million was not prepared to accept Venezuelan deportees.
“It will be unfair for Nigeria to accept 300 Venezuelan deportees,” he said.
Instead, he said Nigeria was looking “to do deals with the US” because the country has a lot of gas, critical minerals and rare earths needed by American tech companies.
The Wall Street Journal quoted internal documents and sources as saying the Trump administration was pushing the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania, Gabon and Guinea-Bissau to accept migrants deported by the US whose home countries refuse them or are slow to take them back.
The newspaper says that, prior to their White House summit on Wednesday, the US government had already sent requests asking all five countries to accept migrants expelled from the US – a strategy the paper described as an “aggressive” overlap between the Trump administration’s deportation campaign and its foreign policy.”
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
