Did Trump sign executive order banning visas for Nigerians?

Claim: Social media users claimed that the United States President, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order to stop granting visas to Nigerians seeking to enter the country.

Verdict: False! While the United States president has asked immigration officers to tighten visa vetting procedures, he has not explicitly called for a visa ban on Nigerian citizens.

Full Text

Since his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, the name of the United States (US) president, Donald Trump, has remained a frequent topic of conversation and a common subject of social media posts among Nigerians.

Since then, Nigerian social media has been awash with reports about executive orders signed by Trump that could affect the immigration status of Nigerians living in the US, while others have raised concerns regarding Nigerians who may wish to migrate there. 

Recently, a claim circulated on social media that Trump had ordered a visa ban on Nigerians. The US president allegedly explained that the reason for the ban was linked to Nigeria’s development—but is this information true?

Considering many Nigerians are nursing relocation ambitions to pursue greener pastures in many foreign countries, including the US, the claim has continued to gain widespread attention. The claim was also shared here and here.

Users of the DUBAWA chatbot also sought to verify the claim’s authenticity.

Verification

DUBAWA scanned news reports from credible media organisations to find any publication on this development but found none. 

On his first day in office, Trump signed a series of executive orders concerning border security and immigration, as seen here and here. 

While there are speculations that the US president might place visa restrictions on some countries going forward, the US has not announced a ban on Nigeria as of this report (Feb. 5, 2025).

Meanwhile, during Trump’s first administration, Nigeria was affected by a travel ban policy in 2020. However, this was only targeted at those who wished to live permanently in the United States. The US cited Nigeria’s failure to meet its security and information-sharing standards. 

It explained, “Nigeria is not complying with the established identity-management and information-sharing criteria assessed by performance metrics. Nigeria does not adequately share public safety and terrorism-related information, which is necessary for national security and public safety of the United States.” 

Initially, the ban restricted people from seven majority-Muslim countries but the list was modified after a series of court challenges. 

Also, the US imposed entry restrictions on Nigerians who undermined the democratic process during the 2023 election. 

Conclusion

The claim that Trump imposed a visa ban on Nigerians seeking to enter the United States is false.