• Shuts down embassy in Abuja, Lagos Consulate for Buhari
The United States government has issued a severe warning to foreign nationals, who overstay their visa validity.

The embassy also cautioned that such action could lead to deportation and a permanent ban from re-entering the country.

This was as the U.S. Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos said it would be closed today, in observance of the public holiday declared by the Federal Government in honour of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari. All visa appointments slated for July 15, 2025, will be rescheduled, it stated.

In a statement yesterday, U.S. immigration authorities reiterated their longstanding policy on visa compliance, saying: “If you remain in the U.S. beyond your authorised period of stay, you could be deported, and could face a permanent ban on travelling to the U.S.”

This warning comes amid rising migration figures, especially among young Africans, many of whom travel to the U.S. in pursuit of better education and economic opportunity.

According to recent data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, visa overstays represent a significant portion of immigration violations yearly, prompting tighter enforcement measures and renewed public awareness campaigns by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

However, under U.S. immigration law, individuals who remain in the country unlawfully for more than 180 days can face a three- or 10-year ban and, in some cases, a lifetime ban from returning.

For Nigerians seeking to relocate or study in the U.S., the warning serves as a reminder to comply strictly with immigration terms, especially as global scrutiny on migration grows fiercer.

Meanwhile, U.S. immigration officials may deport migrants to countries other than their home nations with as little as six hours’ notice,0 a top President Donald Trump administration’s official said in a memo, offering a preview of how deportations could ramp up.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will generally wait at least 24 hours to deport someone after informing them of their removal to a “third country”, according to a memo dated July 9, from the agency’s Acting Director, Todd Lyons.

ICE could remove them, however, to a so-called “third country” with as little as six hours’ notice “in exigent circumstances,” said the memo, as long as the person has been provided the chance to speak with an attorney.

The memo states that migrants could be sent to nations that have pledged not to persecute or torture them “without the need for further procedures.”

The new ICE policy suggests Trump’s administration could move quickly to send migrants to countries around the world.

The Supreme Court in June lifted a lower court’s order limiting such deportations without screening for fear of persecution in the destination country.