US expands immigration application freeze to Nigeria, 19 other countries
The United States has expanded its pause on legal immigration applications to include nationals of 20 additional countries, including Nigeria, following President Donald Trump’s latest travel ban proclamation.
A U.S. official, who spoke anonymously to CBS News, said the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has widened its suspension of immigration case processing to cover applicants from the newly listed countries, although the changes have not yet been formally announced.
Under the updated proclamation, immigrants and travellers from five countries Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria are now fully barred from entering the United States.
The order also imposes partial restrictions on citizens of 15 other countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
According to the official, immigration applications from these countries will now be affected by the expanded USCIS suspension, effectively halting the processing of many legal immigration cases tied to the new restrictions.
