US embassy respond to report say dem dey revoke visas for Nigerians anyhow

Di embassy of di United States of America to Nigeria don respond to di tori say dem dey revoke visas wey dem bin don give to some Nigerian citizens.

Tori by Guardian Newspaper bin tok say some Nigerians wey get US visas bin receive message say make dem bring dia passports back to di US embassy, and di American authorities just revoke dia visa without any explanation.

Pipo wey dey affected include students wey get student visas, business pipo and professionals.

Di US goment, earlier dis year bin release list of kontris wey dem place on outright visa ban, and some oda kontris wey get visa restrictions, but Nigeria no dey for any of di lists.

So e shock di pipo wey dey affected how di US embassy just revoke dia visas and di only explanation be say new information bin come up. Dem no give detail of wetin di new informate be.

Responding to enquiry by BBC News Pidgin on Tuesday, one US embassy tok-tok pesin say di embassy bin get authority to revoke visas but "we dey use all di information we get to do dis on a scale never seen before, in order to keep American borders secure and American communities safe".

According to dis tok-tok pesin, di section 221(i) of di Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) "give di Secretary and Consular Officers discretion to revoke visas at any time, and we dey use dis authority to take action wen dia is indication of a potential ineligibility under di INA".

"Di Trump Administration dey protect our nation and our citizens by upholding di highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process. Prohibiting entry to di United States by dos wey fit pose threat to U.S. national security or public safety na key to protecting U.S. citizens at home," di statement further tok.

"Under di Trump Administration, di State Department dey revoke visa in cases wia a foreign visitor – including foreign students – don overstay dia lawful period of admission, engage in criminal activity, provide material support to a terrorist organization, or odawise violate U.S. law."

Di US State Department bin don announce say dem go dey check di social media accounts of anybody wey wan apply for dia visa, and e go follow for di criteria to qualify for a visa.

For June dis year, tori bin break how dem deport one woman from di US just two hours afta she land sake of wetin officers see wen dem look through her Instagram message.

However, e no dey clear weda dis new wave of revocations get anything to wit posts on top social media. E no also clear weda dis revocation dey restricted only to Nigerian citizens abi na like dis e be for oda African kontris.

BBC tori pesin bin ask some long-term holders of di US visa and dem say dia own visas no dey revoked.

Since Donald Trump start im second term for office, e start to dey implement massive anti-immigration policies wey be part of wetin e bin promise during im campaign.

Last month, BBC News Pidgin report wen di US State Department tok say dem go review visas wey Nigerians and oda citizens hold, in order to take action if dem break rules.

For dat same August di US goment reduce di validity period for visas wey dey grant to pipo from some African kontris, including Nigeria, to just three months.

Dem say di move na to retaliate how Nigeria bin also reduce visa validity period for American pipo. However, di Nigeria goment respond say dem still dey give five-year multiple-entry visas to US nationals.

Earlier in July, authorities for di US say dem don remove di temporary protected status (TPS) wey dem bin give to citizens of Cameroon sake of di katakata wey dey for di kontri.

Dis development leave about 8000 Cameroonians wey dey live for US on di TPS for risk of deportation.