…some of the countries affected in the proposed visa ban are significant US partners, including Egypt and Djibouti.
The United States government is reportedly considering imposing a visa ban on Nigeria and 35 other countries, mostly from Africa, due to concerns over their government’s transparency and inadequate databases for vetting travelers from these countries, iNews Times reports.
According to an internal memo signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the countries have 60 days to meet new requirements and benchmarks established by the State Department.
The proposed list includes 25 African nations, such as Nigeria, Ghana, South Sudan, and Egypt, as well as countries from the Caribbean, Central Asia, and the Pacific Islands.
Some of the affected countries are significant US partners, including Egypt and Djibouti.
The new list in full: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Others are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The memo cited several reasons for the potential visa ban, including:
-Inadequate Identity Documents: Some countries lack competent central government authorities to produce reliable identity documents or civil documents.
-Government Fraud: Widespread government fraud in some countries raises concerns about the legitimacy of travel documents.
-Visa Overstays: Countries with high rates of visa overstays in the US might face restrictions.
The new proposed travel ban follows similar restrictions placed on nationals from 12 countries earlier this month, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The affected countries in the new list are expected to submit an initial plan of action to meet the new requirements by Wednesday.
Critics have however denounced the policy as discriminatory and xenophobic, highlighting the disproportionate number of African and Caribbean nations included in the proposals.
The African Union Commission has also warned that arbitrary visa bans imposed on African countries by the US government could strain decades-long diplomatic relations between the two sides.
The timeline for enforcement of the new set of proposed visa bans remains unclear, as the State Department has declined to comment on internal deliberations, iNews Times reports.
