The United States is considering imposing visa restrictions on Nigeria and 35 other countries, marking a significant expansion of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, according to a classified memo obtained by The Washington Post.
The document, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, directs U.S. diplomats to notify the countries that they have 60 days to meet new security and documentation standards or face potential visa bans and travel restrictions.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is among those listed. The other countries include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, and Ghana.
Other countries on the list include Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These nations represent a broad mix from Africa, the Caribbean, Central Asia, and the Pacific.
The internal communication cited multiple concerns, including failure to provide verifiable civil documentation, widespread government corruption, and high visa overstay rates among nationals of the affected countries.
“Some of these countries have no competent or cooperative central authority to issue identity documents. Others are riddled with fraud,” the memo stated.
It also raised concerns about countries that sell citizenship in exchange for investment without requiring residency, and about individuals allegedly involved in antisemitic or anti-American activities.
The memo outlines a possible reprieve for countries that accept deported third-country nationals from the U.S. or enter into “safe third country” agreements — deals that allow asylum seekers to be returned to those countries if they pass through them en route to the U.S.
The 36 nations have until 8 a.m. Wednesday to present an initial action plan detailing how they intend to meet the new benchmarks. Failure to respond could result in swift enforcement, although no specific deadline for implementation was given.
Neither the U.S. State Department nor the White House has publicly commented on the document.
A diplomatic source familiar with Nigeria-U.S. relations, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The implication for travel, trade, and education could be profound if this goes through.”
Nigerian officials have not yet issued a response.