The United States government under President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to impose travel restrictions on Nigeria and 35 other countries, mostly from Africa, over security and documentation concerns.
According to a report by The Washington Post, an internal memo signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlines the proposal, which gives the listed countries a 60-day deadline to meet new immigration documentation standards set by the U.S. State Department.
The document states that failure to comply within the timeframe may lead to travel bans or visa restrictions.
The memo notes that most of the affected countries are non-compliant with U.S. documentation requirements, with some cited as lacking “a competent or cooperative central government authority to produce reliable identity documents,” or having high levels of document fraud.
President Trump is reportedly focusing on African nations as part of his administration’s broader immigration policy aimed at tightening border and visa controls.
Each country on the list is expected to submit an initial action plan to the U.S. State Department by Wednesday to avoid penalties.
This is not the first time such measures have been considered. In March, the Trump administration proposed a similar policy targeting 43 countries—though Nigeria was not among them at the time. That earlier plan had countries grouped under red (total ban), orange (restricted visas), and yellow (60-day warning) categories.
The current proposal, however, expands the scope significantly, covering countries from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific region.
Countries Listed for Possible U.S. Travel Ban:
Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia.
Asia: Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Syria.
Pacific: Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
