The United States may soon impose fresh travel restrictions on Nigeria and 35 other countries following a new directive being considered by President Donald Trump’s administration.
This development emerged over the weekend through a memo from the U.S. State Department, dated Saturday, June 14, and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The document, which was dispatched to U.S. embassies globally, outlines concerns over what the Trump administration terms “security risks and immigration non-compliance” associated with the listed countries.
According to the memo, affected nations, including Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ethiopia, and 21 other African states, have been given a 60-day deadline to meet new U.S. immigration and security benchmarks or risk facing full or partial visa bans.
The directive also targets countries in the Caribbean, Central Asia, and the Pacific Islands, such as Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Cambodia, and Tonga.
Among the key criteria cited in the memo are the inability of certain governments to issue reliable identity documents, lack of cooperation in repatriation processes, prevalence of document fraud, and high rates of U.S. visa overstays.
“Some of these countries have no competent or cooperative central government authority capable of producing verifiable civil documents,” the memo stated.
Others reportedly permit citizenship acquisition through financial investments without any residency requirement—a practice the U.S. government deems a security loophole.
Allegations of “anti-American or antisemitic activities” linked to individuals from some of the listed countries were also referenced as part of the justification for the impending restrictions.
The document further notes that any nation willing to enter into a “safe third country” agreement or accept third-country nationals removed from the U.S. may be exempted from the travel ban.
Although no implementation date was announced, sources cited by The Washington Post suggested that failure to comply with the directive could lead to swift enforcement.
This latest move marks a significant expansion of the U.S. immigration policy announced on June 4, which imposed full travel bans on countries including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Libya, and Iran, and partial restrictions on others such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Laos.
Full List of the 36 Countries Facing Potential Travel Ban:
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
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