Nigeria visa restrictions flagged

The United States is now enforcing targeted visa restrictions against people it says violated religious freedom in Nigeria and elsewhere. (state.gov) Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the policy on December 3, 2025, saying it would apply to people who “directed, authorized, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out” religious-freedom violations, and in some cases to their immediate family members. (state.gov) On April 11 and April 12, 2026, Mark Walker, the State Department’s principal adviser for global religious freedom, said the restrictions were already being enforced and warned that religious persecutors are “not welcome in America.” (punchng.com, politicsnigeria.com) This is not a blanket ban on Nigerians. The State Department policy is written to target specific individuals tied to religious-freedom abuses, while a separate visa policy for Nigerian travelers took effect on July 8, 2025. (state.gov, ng.usembassy.gov) That July 2025 change cut most non-diplomatic, non-immigrant visas issued to Nigerian citizens to single-entry visas valid for three months, though visas issued before that date kept their original validity. (ng.usembassy.gov) A broader U.S. proclamation then took effect on January 1, 2026, partially suspending visa issuance for Nigerian nationals seeking visitor, student, exchange, and immigrant visas, with listed exceptions. (travel.state.gov, ng.usembassy.gov) The new religious-freedom restrictions sit on top of those wider visa rules. Rubio’s December statement specifically named Nigeria and said the policy could be used against “any other governments or individuals” involved in religious-freedom violations. (state.gov) Washington has tied the move to killings and attacks against Christians in Nigeria, blaming radical Islamist groups, Fulani ethnic militias, and other violent actors. Nigerian officials have long argued that much of the violence is also driven by banditry, land disputes, and criminal conflict, not religion alone. (state.gov, punchng.com) The practical effect is that the United States can deny visas to named people without publishing a full public list. As of April 12, 2026, U.S. officials had confirmed enforcement but had not publicly identified specific Nigerians hit by the religious-freedom restrictions. (punchng.com, state.gov)