Hakeem Balogun, the charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires of the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, says different reasons are responsible for the extreme vetting Nigerians face during entry into the US.<\/p>\n
In an interview with NAN in Washington, Balogun said the Nigerians restricted from entering the US failed to meet other required procedures.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat manner of visa did you collect to come to the United States?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor instance, a pregnant woman who comes to the United States on visiting visa will probably be turned back at the point of entry because she does not have a medical visa.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are coming in on a visiting visa and the immigration man sees you pregnant. Naturally, he will turn you back.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if you have the medical visa, they want to know if you have medical insurance; do you have you medical documents for you to be able to come and use their medical facilities here.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo these are issues. Nigeria is not being singled out. We are not one of those countries that have been mentioned. We are definitely not one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Balogun further said President Donald Trump\u2019s travel ban did not affect Nigerians.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe executive ban on immigration does not affect Nigerians. Whatever must have taken place regarding visa issuance, vetting at the airports, it\u2019s all normal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these things have been on even before President Trump. Let\u2019s get one thing well. That you are issued visa is not a guarantee that you will end up wherever you\u2019re going.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a global thing; it\u2019s not just United States. Even with us in Nigeria, we issue a visa to you here in the Nigerian embassy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no guarantee that you will get in when you get to Murtala Muhammed Airport or when you get to Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe final authority is the man at the point of entry \u2013 immigration officers there. For instance, you can come to the embassy here, we ask for all the things you need to get the visa.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much do you have that we feel will be enough for you to stay in Nigeria for the period you\u2019re going.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay be as at that time, you were able to show us evidence that you have a thousand dollars which we feel will be enough for you to stay in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the time you get to Murtala Muhammed Airport, the man at that end there asked you, all you have to show to him is 100 dollars, definitely, he might turn you back, and that\u2019s normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
TheCable
\nSent from my iPhone<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hakeem Balogun, the charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires of the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, says different reasons are responsible for the extreme vetting Nigerians face during entry into the US. In an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n