United States (US) immigration policies have pushed visa applications from Nigeria to the lowest level in four years.
An analysis by Business Day, based on data from the US Department of State, shows that the number of non-immigrant US visas issued to Nigerians fell by 50.2 percent to 48,669 in 2025, from 97,369 in 2022.
The analysis draws on data from the US Department of State across over 40 non-immigrant visa classes. It shows that the decline in visa issuances in 2025 from 2022 coincides with a series of sweeping immigration and consular policy shifts introduced following Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025.
Joanna Leblanc, a Washington DC-based adjunct professor of American foreign policy, said security concerns and intelligence-sharing issues were among the reasons cited by the Trump administration for imposing partial travel restrictions on Nigeria and several other African countries.
‘If you look at the proclamation, it specifically states that one of the reasons why Nigeria is on this list is because of lack of intelligence sharing. They cited security concerns and vetting difficulties,’ she said.
Leblanc also noted that the restrictions fit within the administration’s broader ‘America First’ agenda, with efforts to overhaul the US immigration system.
The decline last year has been the steepest in the last four years indicating Trump’s immigration reforms had a significant effect on the decline in visa issuance.
For instance, data indicates that between 2022 and 2023, visa issuance increased by 14.8 percent. However, this was followed by a reversal in trend, as it fell by 26.3 percent between 2023 and 2024, before declining more sharply by 19.2 percent between 2024 and 2025. The steepest drop was recorded last year, pointing to an accelerating downward trend in visa issuance.
Regardless, the cost of visa approvals increased by 110.8 percent from 2022 to 2025, with N6.59 billion in 2022 to N13.8 billion in 2025, which means that the total spend more than doubled over the period, rising sharply despite fluctuations in approval numbers.The contrasting trend also highlights the steep depreciation of the naira against the US dollar over the period.
Steep decline in 2025 alone
With Trump’s policy in effect since his inauguration in January 2025, visa issuance that year alone- between January and September in 2025 alone showed a clear and sustained downward trajectory, with approvals falling sharply over the period. From a peak of 7,386 in March, issuance declined almost continuously, dropping to its lowest point of 1,422 by September.
Among the most significant measures was the decision announced in July 2025 to limit most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to Nigerians to single-entry permits valid for only three months. The move effectively ended the long-term, multiple-entry privileges that many business travellers, tourists and students had previously relied upon.
The Trump effect and policy chokeholds
Projections indicate that further drop in visa issuance will certainly occur, as restrictions are now expected to be compounded by recent plans to scale back operations at the US embassy in Abuja and centralise more visa services in Lagos, which took effect in June 2026.
Uloma Okoro, a travel operator, warned that the proposed restructuring could further dampen demand among Nigerians already discouraged by recent immigration restrictions.
‘The closure of the US embassy in Abuja may further discourage visa applicants, especially given the existing executive orders which have placed visa restrictions on some African countries. Interest in the United States is gradually declining in Nigeria and the closure may further worsen the situation,’ she said.
According to Okoro, many Nigerians are already redirecting their travel and study plans to alternative destinations.
‘Nigerians have begun to look at Morocco, Greece, the UK and other African countries as travel destinations. For studies, the interest has been more around the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand,’ she added.
Echoing similar concerns, Sóókó Deji-Ajomale McWord, publisher of Globalafri Diplomat Magazine, said the consolidation of consular services could aggravate existing visa appointment challenges.
According to him, appointment backlogs have persisted even while both the US embassy in Abuja and the US Consulate in Lagos were processing applications.
‘Even when the two missions were providing consular services, getting an appointment could take several months or more than a year. If those services are consolidated into fewer centres, it is going to be chaotic,’ he said.
McWord recalled instances where applicants could not secure appointment dates until the following year because available slots had been exhausted.
‘If what two centres are currently handling is eventually managed by one location, demand will naturally overwhelm capacity,’ he added.
He, however, noted that some of the anticipated challenges could be mitigated through greater adoption of digital processing systems that reduce the need for physical visits.
While some observers see the changes as part of a tougher stance towards immigration from Africa, others argue that the measures should be viewed within the context of broader US foreign policy and resource management priorities.
Fortune Abang, a public affairs analyst, said the reduction of embassy and visa-processing operations across parts of Africa should not automatically be interpreted as an anti-African policy.
According to him, the US is currently balancing multiple geopolitical commitments, including the Russia-Ukraine war, tensions involving Iran and Israel, security challenges in the Middle East and wider diplomatic obligations.
‘The reduction of embassies or visa stations across Africa is not necessarily about excluding African countries. It is largely a strategic and economic decision aimed at reducing operational costs and managing diplomatic resources more efficiently,’ he said.
Nevertheless, Abang acknowledged that the policy could place additional burdens on African travellers, particularly those who may lose direct access to visa-processing facilities.
Errol Morkoc, a senior Republican spokesperson, offered an explanation of the administration’s immigration philosophy during an interview on Arise TV.
Morkoc argued that the US is increasingly moving away from traditional labour-based immigration and towards attracting highly skilled global talent.
‘A new world order has emerged. The need for large-scale economic migration to work in factories, as was the case during the first and second industrial revolutions, no longer matters,’ he said.
According to Morkoc, America’s future economic competitiveness depends on attracting exceptional innovators rather than large numbers of economic migrants.
‘The United States’ entire advantage is brain-draining the very top 0.1 percent of people from all these countries. No longer do we need people to come and work in factories. We need people to come and innovate at the very highest level because jobs are going down and the economy is changing. The fifth industrial revolution is upon us and we need to prepare for it adequately,’ he said.
He also linked the administration’s tougher immigration policies to concerns about competition in a changing labour market increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and automation.
Addressing asylum restrictions, Morkoc argued that many applicants were attempting to use humanitarian pathways as a route to economic migration.
‘They are trying to have backdoor access to economic migration. That’s not asylum. Right now, we don’t have a functional immigration system. It is completely broken. That is why President Trump is putting a hard moratorium on new asylum seekers because you cannot seek asylum for economic benefits. That isn’t asylum; it is economic migration,’ he said.
Taken together, the policy changes, visa restrictions and proposed restructuring of consular operations point to a fundamental shift in how the US manages immigration and mobility. For Nigerian travellers, students and business people, the result has been fewer opportunities, higher costs and growing uncertainty about access to one of the world’s most sought-after destinations.