{"id":95683,"date":"2025-10-28T18:58:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T18:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=95683"},"modified":"2025-10-28T18:58:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T18:58:03","slug":"how-i-was-informed-about-us-visa-revocation-soyinka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=95683","title":{"rendered":"How I was informed about US visa revocation – Soyinka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nigerian Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has revealed that the United States has revoked his non-immigrant visa, effectively barring him from entering the country for now.<\/p>\n

On October 23, 2025, the U.S. Consulate General Lagos sent Soyinka a letter stating that his B1\/B2 visa (a category for temporary business or tourist travel) had been revoked under the authority of the U.S. Department of State regulations.<\/p>\n

The letter noted that \u201cadditional information became available after the visa was issued.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a press briefing held at Kongi\u2019s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos Island, Soyinka told journalists: \u201cI have no visa; I am banned, obviously, from the United States. And if you want to see me, you know where to find me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he could not recall any wrongdoing on his part that might have triggered the revocation, emphasising that he had no criminal record, no felonies or misdemeanours in his past.<\/p>\n

Soyinka\u2019s visa was of the category B1\/B2 and was issued on 02 April 2024 in Lagos.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Prof. Wole Soyinka.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In September 2025, the U.S. Consulate invited a number of Nigerians holding B1\/B2 visas to present themselves for a \u201cre-interview\u201d. Soyinka said he initially thought the letter was fraudulent and declined the invitation.<\/p>\n

Soyinka had earlier, in 2016, torn up his U.S. Green Card as a protest following the election of then-President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Also, in July 2025, the U.S. changed its visa policy for Nigerians \u2014 non-immigrant visas previously valid for up to five years with multiple entries were trimmed to a single\u2010entry three-month permit in many cases.<\/p>\n

Soyinka expressed bewilderment at the decision, saying he was still reviewing his records, asking himself: \u201cHave I ever misbehaved toward the United States of America? Have I been convicted? Have I gone against the law anywhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

He clarified that his press conference was held so that any U.S.-based institutions or individuals who expected his presence wouldn\u2019t \u201cwaste their time\u201d.<\/p>\n

While maintaining no hostility toward the U.S. as a country, he implied that the move felt punitive and unexplained.<\/p>\n

For a figure of Soyinka\u2019s stature \u2014 Nobel laureate in Literature (1986) \u2014 the revocation of a visa by the U.S. is astonishing and raises questions about transparency in visa revocation decisions.<\/p>\n

The timing comes amid a broader tightening of U.S. entry policies for Nigerians and other nationals, suggesting a more stringent approach to non-immigrant visa issuance, and perhaps re-validation.<\/p>\n

Soyinka\u2019s international mobility has been tied to his teaching stints at U.S. universities and speaking engagements; the revocation may limit his participation in U.S. events.<\/p>\n

What is not yet clear is the letter he received does not cite a specific reason for the revocation beyond \u201cadditional information\u201d.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria has not publicly commented on his individual case.<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether Soyinka will apply for a new visa, or pursue any recourse or appeal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nigerian Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has revealed that the United States has revoked his non-immigrant visa, effectively barring him from entering the country for now. On October 23, 2025, the U.S. Consulate General Lagos sent Soyinka a letter stating that his B1\/B2 visa (a category for temporary business or tourist travel) had been revoked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":95686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2274,577,52],"class_list":["post-95683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","tag-soyinka","tag-us","tag-visa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}