America to prosecute, permanently ban Nigerians overstaying US visa
The United States Mission in Nigeria has cautioned travellers that overstaying their visas in America could lead to a permanent ban and potential criminal prosecution.
In a statement released by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, the US would not accept any excuse from those found guilty.
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“If you overstay your US visa, you could face a permanent ban on travel to the United States as well as criminal prosecution.
“Consular officers have full access to your immigration history and will know about past violations.
It could be recalled that since the return of President Donald Trump, there have been mass raids in private homes, schools, workplaces, and shopping centres in the US, targeting undocumented immigrants for deportation.
This followed Trump’s clampdown on illegal immigrants in the US. Trump has vowed to carry out mass deportations of “criminal aliens” among other sweeping reforms by his government.
On January 28, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations reported that about 3,690 Nigerians in the US could be deported.
Data shows that as of 2015, approximately 376,000 Nigerian immigrants lived in the US, making Nigeria the largest source of African immigration to the country.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, in February revealed that 201 Nigerians were held in US immigration camps, with 85 already cleared for deportation.
On Friday, March 21, the United States announced the termination of legal status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants giving them only weeks to leave the country.
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