U.S. plans travel ban on Nigeria, 35 other countries

U.S. plans travel ban on Nigeria, 35 other countries

The United States of America has listed Nigeria and 35 other countries for potential travel ban, citing need to meet identity verification and security requirements.

A classified State Department memo indicates that the targeted countries have until 8 a.m. Wednesday to submit initial action plans detailing how they will meet stricter identity verification and security requirements. They will then have 60 days to achieve full compliance.

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Failure to comply could result in full or partial entry bans, similar to those imposed under previous executive orders by President Donald Trump. Countries that do not meet U.S. standards by the deadline risk being added to the expanded travel restriction list.

Of the 36 countries under review, 25 are in Africa, while the remaining nations are spread across the Caribbean, Asia, and the Pacific, according to the memo.

The memo listed Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Others include Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Tonga, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Tuvalu, Vanuatu Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica.

The State Department memo cited “widespread government fraud,” among other concerns, as justification for the potential ban.