Buhari sets up committee to study US visa ban

 

BY OUR EDITOR

President Muhammadu Buhari has constituted a committee to study the reason why the United States banned Nigerians from its immigrant visa.

The US said it would suspend the issuance of visas that can lead to permanent residency for nationals of Nigeria, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, and Myanmar.

Sudanese and Tanzanian nationals will no longer be allowed to apply for “diversity visas”, which are available by lottery for applicants from countries with low rates of immigration to the US.

According to a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Saturday, the committee, to be led by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, will work with the U.S Government, INTERPOL and other stakeholders to ensure all updates are properly implemented.

The president further charged the committee to look at the real reason President Donald Trump banned Nigerians from US immigration visa.

He reiterated the commitment of Nigeria towards maintaining productive relations with the United States and its international allies especially on matters of global security.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Jan. 31 announced temporary travel restrictions on six countries including Nigeria.

For Nigeria, the restriction is the suspension of the issuance of “immigrant visas” to Nigerian passport holders only.

READ: US to stop issuing visas to Nigerians

This suspension shall come into effect on Feb 21.

The suspension does not apply to other U.S visas such as those for official, business, tourism and student travel.

According to the DHS, the suspension of “immigrant visas” became necessary following a review and update of the methodology adopted by the U.S Government to assess compliance of certain security criteria by foreign governments.

It stated that this resulted in certain enhancements on how information is shared between Nigeria and the U.S.

Mr Wolf said non-immigrant visas given to people for temporary stays – including visitors, those doing business or people seeking medical treatment – would not be impacted by the new rules.

Of the new nationalities facing visa restrictions, Nigerians account for the most immigration to the US.

According to US government statistics, the State Department issued 8,018 immigrant visas to Nigerians in the fiscal year 2018. Kyrgyzstan and Sudan have large Muslim majorities, while around 50% of people in Nigeria and Eritrea are Muslim. Tanzania also has a sizable Muslim community.