20/12/2025
Breaking News: US Halts Green Card and Citizenship Applications for Nigerians
The United States has imposed a temporary suspension on Green Card and citizenship applications involving Nigerian nationals, following an expansion of Washington’s immigration restrictions. The measure is part of a broader travel control policy that now affects several countries.
The suspension covers key legal immigration processes, including applications for permanent residency and naturalisation. It particularly affects Nigerians already living in the United States who were in the process of adjusting their status or applying for citizenship.
Under the new directive, US immigration authorities have stopped processing petitions from nationals of countries listed in the latest travel restrictions. Depending on the country, the measures range from full entry bans to partial limitations. Nigeria falls under the partial restriction category, but the impact is significant: immigration-related applications linked to Nigerians are now on hold, creating uncertainty for families, workers, and students awaiting decisions.
Several other African countries are also affected, including Benin, Senegal, Ghana, Gambia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Côte d’Ivoire. While some face outright bans, others like Nigeria, are subject to limited restrictions that nonetheless disrupt immigration processing.
The suspension forms part of a wider immigration clampdown introduced in recent weeks. US authorities have also frozen asylum decisions and halted the processing of certain visa and immigration applications from specific nationalities. Officials say the actions stem from an ongoing security review of immigration systems.
In a statement, the immigration agency said: “USCIS is conducting a comprehensive review of anyone from anywhere who poses a threat to the US, including those identified in the President’s latest proclamation to restore law and order in our nation’s immigration system.”
Taken together, these policy changes now affect a substantial number of African countries, as well as several nations in Asia and other regions. Analysts estimate that more than half of Africa is impacted in one form or another.
The development has triggered strong reactions among Nigerians both at home and abroad. Critics have condemned the move as unfair and harmful to long-standing diplomatic relations and people- to-people ties between Nigeria and the United States. Others have raised concerns about the economic and social consequences, particularly for families separated by prolonged immigration delays and professionals whose careers depend on legal residency.
Reacting to the decision, former senator Shehu Sani described it as “a clear signal that migrants from developing countries are no longer welcome.”
