Africa airs concern over extended travel curbs

When Chris Joondeph married the woman he loves, he believed patience and paperwork would eventually reunite them. Instead, a sudden expansion of United States immigration restrictions has left the US travel content creator separated from his Nigerian wife, with no clear timeline for when they might live together.

In a video shared on his Instagram page on Wednesday, he said: "As it stands as of yesterday evening, as a US citizen, I cannot bring my spouse to the US. Not even to visit."

The couple has been married for more than 18 months and has spent years navigating the US immigration system.

According to Joondeph, his wife, Adenike, completed all required documentation and has been waiting for an immigrant visa interview since May 2024. She has never visited the US and has not met most members of his family, despite the couple having known each other for nearly five years.

In his post, Joondeph said the new proclamation will likely result in the US no longer issuing visas to the spouses and children of US citizens from a list of affected countries, following the removal of a previous family-based exemption. While national interest exemptions may exist, he described them as "extremely vague and likely very difficult to prove".

The dilemma of Joondeph, and many others across the world, followed an announcement by the US last week that it would expand its travel restrictions to an additional 20 countries and the Palestinian Authority, extending both full and partial entry restrictions to include international students and exchange visitors.

In a White House statement, US President Donald Trump said the measures were intended to protect US citizens from foreign nationals "who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security and public safety, incite hate crimes, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes".

The expansion more than doubles the existing ban, which previously covered 19 countries, and will take effect from Jan 1. The White House said existing visa holders, lawful permanent residents and certain special visa categories would be exempt.

Revised policy

Under the revised policy, full travel bans will apply to countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and South Sudan, while partial restrictions will extend to African countries such as Nigeria, Angola, Benin, Senegal, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

African countries, which were worst affected by the travel bans, have voiced concerns over the policy's potential negative impact. In Nigeria, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said in a statement on his X account that he held talks with the US ambassador to Nigeria, with both sides reaffirming the need to strengthen bilateral relations.

Tanzania also confirmed it was placed under partial entry restrictions. In a statement, Tanzania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Community said the government would continue to engage the US through diplomatic channels while urging citizens to comply fully with the visa regulations.

Critics have questioned the national security rationale cited by the US for the immigration policies, stating the blanket travel bans, which apply mainly to African and Asian countries, are discriminatory, and weaken the US global standing.

Melha Rout Biel, executive director of the Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies in South Sudan, said the move also risks isolating the US globally, adding that affected countries have more leverage than often assumed.

He said the greatest impact of the travel bans may fall on "African elites who invest in the US instead of Africa", which may cause more loss to the US than to African countries. Meanwhile, the affected countries may also consider reciprocal measures, he said.