Nigerian Travellers to the US have heaved a sigh of relief as the government of the United States, under President Donald Trump excluded them from a mandatory $15,000 visa bond.
The bond affects 15 African countries with a at least 10% rate of overstay.
The new travel rule requires travellers to pay a bond of between $5,000 and $15,000 with effect from the 24th of December.
The temporary rule which is expected to run through the 24th of July affects countries whose citizens are adjudged as overstaying with the B-2 visas for tourists and the B-1 visas for business travellers.
The countries affected by the new visa bond include:
- Chad
- Angola
- Djibuti
- Burkina Faso
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Eritrea
- The Gambia
- Mauritania
- Guinea-Bissau
- Liberia
- Libya
- Sudan
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Burundi
- Cape Verde
Top among the worst offenders, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are Chad (44.94%), Djibouti (37.91%) and Mauritania (30.94%).
The DHS states that out of 177,835 Nigerians who visited the US in 2019, 17,566 overstayed while 764 departed late and 16,802 stayed back.
Narrowly escaping the cut-off mark, the overstaying rate was between 9.45% and 9.88% while in other classifications, 11.12% of 9,336 Nigerian non-immigrants and exchange visitors overstayed.
Read also:
Nigerian Immigrants No Longer Allowed in the US
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US Visa Rules for Nigerians Get Even Tighter
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