A total of 97,369 Nigerians received non-immigrant visas from the United States in 2022, a 215% increase compared to 30,878 issued in the previous year. This is according to data from the US Department of State.
The increase followed the rising cases of migration by Nigerians to other countries, especially through study visas. Nigerians seeking to travel abroad have adopted the study route as a means to obtain visas and live in other climes.
A breakdown of the data showed that 49,888 non-migrant visas were issued via Lagos State, which is the commercial hub of the country, 31,530 were issued through the federal capital, Abuja, while the remaining 15,951 were issued through other states.
What you should know: A non-immigrant visa is used by tourists, business people, students, or specialty workers who wish to stay for a particular period of time in the United States to accomplish specific purposes.
The number of Nigerians that have migrated out of the country has increased significantly in recent times, owing to the socio-economic doldrums ravaging the economy. Nairametrics reported earlier that Nigerians spent $1.38 billion on foreign education between January and September 2022, resulting in a current account deficit of over $1 billion.
In 2022, Nairametrics reported that many organizations recorded mass resignations, most of whom were due to migration plans to other climes like UK, Canada, US, and other countries in Europe. A number of these foreign countries have migration plans specifically targeted at African migrants to fill their labour gap.
For example, the United Kingdom announced the need for migrant teachers in December 2022, which is targeted at incentivizing people in the teaching profession in Nigeria and other developing economies to migrate to the UK.
The United States has played host to many people of Nigerian origin over the years. Specifically, Nigerian ranks third on the list of top birthplaces for black immigrants living in the US with 390,000 people as of 2019.
What this means: The rising cases of japa in Nigeria represent a major capital and intellectual flight for the African giant as funds are being utilized to process these travelings, especially through study routes, as well as the fact that the best minds are the ones in many cases who relocate abroad.
This could have a negative effect on the Nigerian economy, as the active population who are supposed to help drive growth are the ones leaving. However, they could also drive increase in household remittances when they send funds to their families back home.
