Several countries across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia have been affected by the United States’ (U.S.) visa suspension.

Ghana, Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and several others are under the U.S.suspension list.

The new development, according to the Donald Trump administration, is to prevent what it claims is the misuse of welfare and public benefit programs by some immigrants.

This information was disclosed by an Associated Press released by the State Department.

"The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people, …to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits", parts of the statement read. Countries such as Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and several countries in Africa have had had stricter migration and visa rules imposed on them.

In July 2025, the U.S. Department of State—Bureau of Consular Affairs limited the number of entries and duration given under non-immigrant visa classifications. The affected countries were slapped with a maximum three-month single-entry visa and other limitations. In the specific case of Ghana, the Trump Administration said they were reacting to many years of visa overstays, mainly by students.

It announced that Ghanaian visa applicants, including those applying for B-class visas covering business and tourism travel, will be issued single-entry visas valid for just three months. It emphasized that they can no longer access the 5-year visa and multiple-entry.

The guidelines were published under the U.S. Visa, which revealed that Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country for Ghana also affect student visa applicants.

It noted that the F-1 visa holders, who are typically enrolled in full-time academic programmes in the U.S., will now be issued visas that allow for only one entry and expire after three months.

Additionally, diplomats and government officials will, however, continue to receive multiple-entry visas with validity ranging from 24 to 60 months.

The K1 visa, issued to the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) of a US citizen intending to marry within 90 days of arrival in the United States, and the K2 visa, provided to the unmarried dependent child (under 21 years old) of a K1 visa holder, are single-entry visas that will be valid for 6 months.

The K3 visa, for the foreign-citizen spouse of a US citizen, and the K4 visa, for their unmarried dependent child (under 21 years old), are multiple-entry visas that will be valid for 24 months.

All other visa applicants, including those applying for B-class visas, which cover business and tourism travel, will now be issued single-entry visas valid for just three months.

In reaction to the US' new policy that affects Ghana and Nigeria, the Vice President of IMANI-Africa, Bright Simons, quizzed whether or not Ghana and Nigeria can retaliate.

"Given the scale and scope of the restrictions this time around now, citizen interest is likely to be much higher putting pressure on the government to openly discuss the measures it intends to take in response," he noted while revealing how diplomatic channels resolved similar actions by the US in the past.

He called on the government to provide statistics on whether or not US citizens coming to Ghana do not get long-term, multiple-entry visas as often as Ghanaian citizens visiting the US do.

"Thus, they are trying to frame the issue as one of "reciprocity". Something that, per policy, they ought to review regularly. Our governments should publish stats on this. Is it true or not?"

"The visa regimes of some other places Ghanaians like to visit, like Europe, China, and the Middle-East, are not any more liberal. Getting long-term, multiple-entry visas for these places has been quite hard. It may be hard to justify retaliation against the US when visa rules for other places seem just as tight or even tighter. Except, of course, that there is no rule that says that retaliation must be symmetrical," he added.

However in September 2025, the United States government lifted the visa restrictions imposed on Ghanaian nationals. According to the U.S. Embassy in Ghana, B1/B2 visas, which cover business and tourism travel, are now valid for up to five years with multiple entries, while F1 student visas are valid for up to four years with multiple entries. For F1 student visas, the Consular stated that the maximum validity has changed from a single entry with three months expiration to four years with multiple entries.

“The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that the maximum validity periods for all categories of nonimmigrant visas for Ghanaians have been restored to their previous lengths. The maximum validity allowed for the B1/B2 visitor visa is again five years, multiple entry. The maximum validity for the F1 student visa is again four years, multiple entry,” it indicated on X.