- At least 26 countries have seen reductions in validity of non-immigrant visas, though the situation remains fluid
- After three months, students must apply for a new visa each time they re-enter the US, incurring additional fees
- US international student enrolment is projected to decline by 30-40% amid all the disruption
As visa appointments slowly reopen at US consulates across the globe, State Department changes to visa reciprocity rules are causing further uncertainty for students from 26 nations across Africa, Asia and Oceania.
The change followed reports of an internal cable purportedly citing 36 countries that could be subject to travel bans.
Notably, international students from Nigeria and Ghana will only be eligible for single entry, three-month visas to the US – a key development causing further uncertainty among prospective students from these key source countries.
“In furtherance of Executive Order 14161, the department has reduced nonimmigrant visa validity for nationals of certain countries,” a State Department spokesperson told The PIE News.
“Students from Ghana and Nigeria – countries with single-entry-visas – would need to apply for a new visa if they depart the United States and wish to return. However, they are not required to renew their visa while they remain in the United States,” they explained.
As long as students remain fully enrolled and make normal progress towards their degree, “they are permitted to stay lawfully, even after the visa itself has expired,” said Aaron Blumberg, immigration partner at Fragomen law firm.
However, as their visa is now limited to single entry and a short validity period, students must apply for a new visa each time they travel outside the US, regardless of the reason or duration of their trip.
Stakeholders have warned that the change introduces substantial hurdles for international students visiting family abroad, which will involve additional visa fees each time, alongside careful planning and potentially long waits for appointments.
“The logistics of navigating a single-entry visa under these circumstances are unclear, and many students are understandably anxious about how to proceed,” Bimpe Femi-Oyewo, CEO of Edward Consulting in Nigeria, told The PIE.
Femi-Oyewo said a single-entry visa was “simply not practical” for students enrolled in two- or four-year programs, many of which include study abroad opportunities and global immersion trips that students from affected countries could now miss out on.
“It’s a stressful, unpredictable process, and the stakes are high,” she emphasised.
In addition to overseas internships and research collaborations, graduate students presenting their work at conferences abroad and students travelling for academic or athletic competitions will be among those facing additional risks, highlighted Blumberg.
What’s more, the policy change makes the timing of the initial visa application far more sensitive.
“If a student applies too early, for example in March for an August program start, the visa may be issued with an expiration date in June, meaning it would expire before the student is eligible to enter the US,” explained Blumberg.
“In that case, they would have to re-apply. But if they wait too long and encounter appointment backlogs or processing delays, the visa may not be issued in time for their program start,” he added.
According to the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual, visa policies for different nations are “based on what that country provides to US citizens for the same purpose of travel”, though this has been disputed by the West African nations.
As it stands, the 26 countries with changes to maximum entry and validity period for nonimmigrant visa categories include Angola, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, South Sudan, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, according to Blumberg.
In response to the change, Nigerian presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said his country continued to offer five-year multiple-entry visas to US nationals, refuting the US government’s claim of reciprocity.
It’s a stressful, unpredictable process, and the stakes are high
Bimpe Femi-Oyewo, Edward Consulting
Likewise, Ghana’s government said it had issued more than 28,500 multiple entry visas to US citizens this year, and that it hoped for an “early resolution” to the issue, according to the BBC.
Notably, individuals in the US on visas issued prior to July 8, 2025 will retain their status and validity, said the US embassy in Nigeria, maintaining that visa reciprocity was a “continuous process and is subject to revie and change at any time”.
Sending over 20,000 students to the US in 2023/24, Nigeria stands as America’s seventh largest source of international students.
For their part, Ghanaian students totalled nearly 9,400 last year, according to the latest IIE Open Doors data, though the upcoming fall semester could reveal a wildly different picture.
Concerns around three-month visas add to the already volatile situation for US-bound international students, grappling with the State Department’s visa interview freeze and enhanced social media screening causing widespread delays at US embassies.
Coupled with Trump’s June 4 travel bans barring students from 19 countries from obtaining new visas to study in the US, visa issuance has slowed to alarming rates and is forecast to drop by 30-40% in the upcoming fall semester.
Along with India and China, consulates in Nigeria were among those experiencing the highest cases of cancelled appointments and unavailability in June and July – typically the peak months for visa issuance.
Though several interview slots have “finally opened up”, stakeholders in Nigeria are still seeing a “high volume of visa denials even for students who are fully funded, have competitive scholarships or possess strong travel histories” said Femi-Oyewo.
And yet, despite the hurdles, Femi-Oyewo said she didn’t believe the policy would deter Nigerians or broader African communities from pursuing a US education.
“The US remains a top destination because it’s still widely seen as the land of opportunity. I’m continually surprised by the number of students who still prioritise the US above all other countries, even with the increasing complexities,” she said.
