Entry rules · Nigeria passport
The United States currently suspends or refuses short visits for Nigeria passport holders, apart from narrow exceptions.
Checked against official sources on 8 Oct 2026. Two independent checks agreed.
The passages the two checks relied on, with where they come from. Quotes are shown as published, in the source’s language.
The entry into the United States of nationals of Nigeria as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended.
This proclamation is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on January 1, 2026.
the Department of State partially suspended visa issuance to nationals of 19 countries – Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote D’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – for nonimmigrant B-1/B-2 visitor visas
Sec. 5. Partial Suspension of Entry for Nationals of Countries of Identified Concern. The entry into the United States of nationals of the following countries is hereby suspended and limited, as follows, subject to the categorical exceptions and case-by-case waivers described in section 6 of this proclamation: (a) Angola (i) According to the Overstay Report, Angola had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 14.43 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 21.92 percent. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Angola as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B‑2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Angola to the extent permitted by law. (b) Antigua and Barbuda (i) Antigua and Barbuda has historically had CBI without residency. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Antigua and Barbuda as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Antigua and Barbuda to the extent permitted by law. (c) Benin (i) According to the Overstay Report, Benin had a B-1/B-2 overstay rate of 12.34 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 36.77 percent. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Benin as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Benin to the extent permitted by law. (d) Cote d ‘Ivoire (i) According to the Overstay Report, Cote d’Ivoire had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 8.47 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 19.09 percent. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Cote d ‘Ivoire as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Cote d ‘Ivoire to the extent permitted by law. (e) Dominica (i) Dominica has historically had CBI without residency. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Dominica as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B‑1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Dominica to the extent permitted by law. (f) Gabon (i) According to the Overstay Report, Gabon had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 13.72 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 17.77 percent. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Gabon as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Gabon to the extent permitted by law. (g) The Gambia (i) According to the Overstay Report, The Gambia had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 12.70 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 38.79 percent. Additionally, The Gambia has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of The Gambia as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of The Gambia to the extent permitted by law. (h) Malawi (i) According to the Overstay Report, Malawi had a B‑1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 22.45 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 31.99 percent. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Malawi as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Malawi to the extent permitted by law. (i) Mauritania (i) According to the Overstay Report, Mauritania had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 9.49 percent. According to the Department of State, the Government of Mauritania has little presence in certain parts of the country, which creates substantial screening and vetting difficulties. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Mauritania as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Mauritania to the extent permitted by law. (j) Nigeria (i) Radical Islamic terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State operate freely in certain parts of Nigeria, which creates substantial screening and vetting difficulties. According to the Overstay Report, Nigeria had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 5.56 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 11.90 percent. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Nigeria as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B‑2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Nigeria to the extent permitted by law. (k) Senegal (i) According to the Overstay Report, Senegal had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 4.30 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 13.07 percent. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Senegal as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Senegal to the extent permitted by law. (l) Tanzania (i) According to the Overstay Report, Tanzania had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 8.30 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 13.97 percent. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Tanzania as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B‑1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Tanzania to the extent permitted by law. (m) Tonga (i) According to the Overstay Report, Tonga had a B‑1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 6.45 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 14.44 percent. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Tonga as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Tonga to the extent permitted by law. (n) Turkmenistan (i) Since the issuance of Proclamation 10949, Turkmenistan has engaged productively with the United States and demonstrated significant progress in improving its identity-management and information-sharing procedures. As a result, the restrictions imposed on Turkmenistan in this proclamation modify and supersede those set forth in section 3(f) of Proclamation 10949. (ii) The suspension of entry into the United States of nationals of Turkmenistan as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas is lifted. Because some concerns remain, the entry into the United States of nationals of Turkmenistan as immigrants remains suspended. (o) Zambia (i) According to the Overstay Report, Zambia had a B‑1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 10.73 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 21.02 percent. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Zambia as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Zambia to the extent permitted by law. (p) Zimbabwe (i) According to the Overstay Report, Zimbabwe had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 7.89 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 15.15 percent. (ii) The entry into the United States of nationals of Zimbabwe as immigrants, and as nonimmigrants on B‑1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended. (iii) Consular officers shall reduce the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa issued to nationals of Zimbabwe to the extent permitted by law.
Sec. 6. Scope and Implementation of Suspensions and Limitations. (a) Scope. Subject to the exceptions set forth in subsection (b) of this section and any exceptions made pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) of this section, the suspensions of and limitations on entry pursuant to sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this proclamation shall apply only to foreign nationals of the designated countries who: (i) are outside the United States on the applicable effective date of this proclamation; and (ii) do not have a valid visa on the applicable effective date of this proclamation. (b) Exceptions. The suspension of and limitation on entry pursuant to sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this proclamation shall not apply to: (i) any lawful permanent resident of the United States; (ii) any dual national of a country designated under sections 2, 3, 4, or 5 of this proclamation when the individual is traveling on a passport issued by a country not so designated; (iii) any foreign national traveling with a valid nonimmigrant visa in the following classifications: A‑1, A-2, C-2, C-3, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1, NATO‑2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5, or NATO-6; (iv) any athlete or member of an athletic team, including the coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State; (v) Special Immigrant Visas for United States Government employees under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D); and (vi) immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran. (c) The exceptions in subsection (b) of this section amend and supersede the exceptions set forth in section 4(b) of Proclamation 10949 with respect to any countries listed in section 2 or 3 of Proclamation 10949 from and after the date of this proclamation. (d) Exceptions to the suspension of and limitation on entry pursuant to sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this proclamation may be made on a case-by-case basis for individuals for whom the Attorney General finds, in her discretion, that the travel by the individual would advance a critical United States national interest involving the Department of Justice, including when individuals must be present to participate in criminal proceedings as witnesses. These exceptions shall be made only by the Attorney General, or her designee, in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security. (e) Exceptions to the suspension of and limitation on entry pursuant to sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this proclamation may be made on a case-by-case basis for individuals for whom the Secretary of State finds, in his discretion, that the travel by the individual would serve a United States national interest. These exceptions shall be made by only the Secretary of State or his designee, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security or her designee. (f) Exceptions to the suspension of and limitation on entry pursuant to sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this proclamation may be made on a case-by-case basis for individuals for whom the Secretary of Homeland Security finds, in her discretion, that the travel by the individual would serve a United States national interest. These exceptions shall be made by only the Secretary of Homeland Security or her designee, in coordination with the Secretary of State or his designee.
Sec. 8. Enforcement. (a) The Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with appropriate domestic and international partners, including countries and organizations, to ensure efficient, effective, and appropriate implementation of this proclamation. (b) In implementing this proclamation, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations. (c) No immigrant or nonimmigrant visa issued before the applicable effective date of this proclamation shall be revoked pursuant to this proclamation. (d) This proclamation shall not apply to an individual who has been granted asylum by the United States or to a refugee who has already been admitted to the United States. Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to limit the ability of an individual to seek asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture, consistent with the laws of the United States.
Sec. 10. Effective Date. This proclamation is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on January 1, 2026.
On 8 Oct 2026 we checked this rule against the official sources that govern entry to the United States, chiefly Federal Register (Executive Office of the President), Proclamation 10998, 90 FR 59717. Two independent checks reached the same result.
Before the check, public visa data (as of 17 Feb 2026) said: visa required. The official source shows: no admission, and that is what this page shows.
See this check in the log of checks and changes, and how verification works in the methodology.
Something here is wrong or out of date? Report a wrong rule.
What these governments tell their own citizens about travel to the United States as a whole, as of 30 Sept 2026. It is not about visas, and it reflects each government’s relations and consular reach as well as conditions on the ground.
Your passport must be valid for your whole stay in the United States.
In a justified emergency, border officials may accept a passport with less validity left.
This is the rule for Nigeria passports, which are on the Six-Month Club list.
Citizens of the countries in this document are exempt from the six-month rule and need only have a passport valid for their intended period of stay.
This page answers whether you need a visa and how long you can stay on a short tourist visit. It does not cover other documents or permission to work. Entry rules change, sometimes without notice, and border officials make the final decision: confirm the requirements for your trip with the official immigration website or embassy of the United States.