U.S. embassy steps, visa restrictions reported

The United States kept Nigeria at Level 3 on April 8 and authorized non-emergency embassy staff and family members to leave Abuja. (travel.state.gov) (ng.usembassy.gov) The State Department said the move followed a “deteriorating security situation,” while the embassy said Abuja would stay open with limited emergency help for U.S. citizens. The U.S. Consulate General in Lagos said it would continue routine and emergency services. (travel.state.gov) (ng.usembassy.gov) Nigeria’s advisory level did not change with the April 8 update. The United States still tells travelers to reconsider travel to Nigeria and not travel to states including Borno, Yobe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Plateau and Rivers outside Port Harcourt. (travel.state.gov) At the same time, Washington is enforcing a separate visa-restriction policy tied to religious freedom. A December 2025 State Department policy says visa issuance can be restricted for people who direct, support or carry out violations of religious freedom, and in some cases for their immediate family members. (state.gov) That policy matters in Nigeria because the State Department’s latest religious-freedom reporting describes repeated attacks by Boko Haram, the Islamic State in West Africa, criminal gangs and other armed actors, including attacks that hit religious communities. Nigeria was also placed on the Special Watch List on December 18 for tolerating severe violations of religious freedom. (state.gov 1) (state.gov 2) Mark Walker, the State Department’s principal adviser for global religious freedom since January 22, said on April 11 that the United States had already begun executing the visa policy. Newsweek and several Nigerian outlets reported that Nigeria was among the countries in focus, although U.S. officials did not publicly name any individuals. (state.gov) (newsweek.com) Nigeria’s government rejected the idea that the embassy departure signaled a collapse in security. Information Minister Mohammed Idris said the U.S. step was a routine internal precaution and said military and intelligence operations had produced security gains. (inquirer.ng) The embassy move is narrower than the broader visa suspensions already affecting Nigerian nationals under separate U.S. rules that took effect on January 1, 2026. The U.S. mission in Nigeria says those suspensions cover nonimmigrant visitor, student and exchange visas, plus immigrant visas, with limited exceptions. (ng.usembassy.gov) What changed this week was not Nigeria’s overall travel-advisory level, but Washington’s posture inside Abuja: fewer non-emergency personnel at the embassy, reduced emergency capacity there, and a second pressure point through targeted visa restrictions. (travel.state.gov) (ng.usembassy.gov)