By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
American visa slam on Nigeria may not last as long as feared, if Washington follows the same way it lifted restrictions on Ghana after agreement on deporting its nationals not wanted in Yankee country.
On January 31, Nigeria joined the list of countries the United States sees as pariah, stopping from February 21 the issuance of visas to Nigerians that can lead to permanent residency.
Nigerians can still get US tourist and business visas, but even the rules for those are now tighter.
Washington said the new curb was imposed because Africa’s most populous nation failed to fulfil information-sharing agreement, especially on terrorism.
However, after about a year of facing restrictions, visa processing for Ghanaian officials and their families has now reverted to normal.
The slam had been imposed in February 2019 as the US department of Homeland Security and department of State said Ghana was failing to cooperate in the process of accepting its citizens ordered removed from America.
Ghana countered by claiming that the US was not following due process to show that the intended deportees were indeed Ghanaians.
The increased rate of deportation followed tightening of US policies with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials stepping up immigrant arrests.
The US department of State confirmed that it has agreed a process with Ghana for identifying, validating, and issuing travel documentation to Ghanaian citizens to be deported.
Restrictions on visa validity and number of entries permitted on tourist and business visas issued to Ghanaians have now been lifted.
Visa curbs on Ghanaian officials and diplomats followed similar penalties in 2017 on Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Eritrea also for failing to comply with removal orders for their nationals.
4,000 Liberians to become US citizens
Last year, Nigeria had the largest global drop-off in visitors to the US after a plethora of visa clampdown measures.
But up to 4,000 Liberians who have lived continuously in the US since November 20, 2014 have been given opportunity to apply for Green Card that qualifies them for legal residency, work, and citizenship.
The provision, tucked into the $738 billion Defence Appropriation Bill, was signed into law in December 2019 by Trump.
Beneficiaries have until December 20, 2020 to apply to US Immigration to adjust their status. Those convicted of any aggravated felony are not eligible.
Rare legislation
The pathway to American citizenship granted Liberians is a victory for pro-migrant activists and lawmakers who pushed for citizenship for Liberians covered by temporary deportation relief programmes.
The legalisation is the first of its kind in nearly two decades, according to immigration experts.
President Donald Trump has attempted to phase out most enrollment in humanitarian immigration programmes such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), which are offered at the discretion of the administration.
Liberians have been protected both by TPS and DED.
Trump unexpectedly postponed a winding down of DED protections for Liberians in early 2019, pushing back the end date until March 2020.
In that announcement, Trump cited the “unique” history of Liberia, a nation founded in 1847 by freed American slaves.
Two Democratic Senators, Tina Smith of Minnesota and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, pressed to include the provision for Liberians in the $738 billion National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA).
As of 2018, Minnesota has the largest population of Liberian immigrants of any US state, according to US Census Bureau estimates.
Smith said the provision also had support from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho.
“This was one place where I think we were able to get bipartisan agreement,” she added.
Liberians may now apply for permanent residency if they have maintained a continuous presence in the US since November 20, 2014, when the Barack Obama administration approved TPS for Liberia following an Ebola outbreak.
They include those covered by that TPS designation and the DED programme.
The US Department of Homeland Security estimates 4,000 Liberians would have been covered by TPS in 2014. Spouses and children of those eligible also can apply for permanent residency, which could push that estimate higher.
Famatta Zeon, 44, a supervisor with US Bank in Minneapolis, who left Liberia for the US in 2001 during that country’s civil war, could benefit.
“We are here, we’re good citizens, we’re paying our taxes,” said Zeon, who has three children who are US citizens. “We’re doing everything that the country wants us to do.”
Living under dread
For over two decades, thousands of Liberian immigrants have lived with uncertainty in the US after fleeing civil war in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Under both Republican and Democratic administrations, they received temporary respite in the form of DED and TPS issued at the president’s discretion.
The biggest scare came in March 2018 when Trump announced the termination of DED and gave Liberian DED holders a year until March 31, 2019 to leave the US or risk deportation.
The announcement led to a lawsuit from advocacy groups, African Communities Together and Undocublack, and 15 Liberian DED holders, who cited racial animus as Trump’s motive for terminating the programme.
But days before the deadline, Trump quietly issued an executive order extending the programme until March 30, 2020. With the green card provision, Liberians can now apply for permanent residency before the expiration of their current statuses.
Once dubbed “America’s stepchild”, Liberia has had nearly 200 years of bilateral relations with the US.
