‘Falsified records’ – US Govt gives reason for tough visa requirements for Nigerians

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS, has explained the reason for stringent visa policies for Nigerian applicants.

The agency alleged that Nigerian documents lack credibility due to forgery and corruption.

The Deputy Director of USCIS, Angelica Alfonso-Royals, made the claim at the US District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

She defended the agency’s decision to place applications of Nigerians and nationals of 38 other countries on hold, after they were restricted from entering the US over terrorism and public safety threats.

According to the agency, it was important that officials place an adjudicative hold on all pending benefit requests submitted by or for aliens from the high-risk countries after President Donald Trump’s December 2025 and January 2026 proclamations.

“Nigerian documents also have limited credibility due to corruption.

“In Nigeria, it is common for government officials to falsify records. Furthermore, Nigerian birth and death registrations rarely happen at the time of the event and often only occur when needed, which can be years later

“Many Nigerian marriage and divorce events are not recorded in formal government databases. When they are, record-keeping is poor to non-existent,” Alfonso-Royals said.