TUE DEC 23 2025-theGBJournal| The United States on Monday announced a partial visa issuance ban on Nigeria and 18 other countries, citing poor vetting, overstay rates for students and visitors.
The ban takes effect January 1, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. EST, in line with Presidential Proclamation 10998 on “Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States.”
The Department of State also placed partially suspended visa issuance to nationals of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote D’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – for nonimmigrant B-1/B-2 visitor visas and F, M, J student and exchange visitor visas, and all immigrant visas with limited exceptions for:
•Immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran
•Dual nationals applying with a passport of a nationality not subject to a suspension
•Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for U.S. government employees under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D)
•Participants in certain major sporting events
•Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs)
”Presidential Proclamation 10998 applies only to foreign nationals who are outside the United States on the effective date and do not hold a valid visa on effective date (January 1, 2026)
Foreign nationals, even those outside the United States, who hold valid visa as of the effective date are not subject to the Presidential Proclamation 10998.
No visas issued before January 1, 2026 at 12:01 a.m EST. have been or will be revoked pursuant to the Proclamation.
Visa applicants who are subject to Presidential Proclamation 10998 may still submit visa applications and schedule interviews, but may be ineligible for visa issuance or admission to the United States.”
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