What’s next for African students under Trump’s travel ban?

When I heard the news that the US had expanded the travel restrictions, blocking Nigerian international students from obtaining US visas and adding more African countries to both partial restrictions and full bans, I was devastated. The announcement broke at night, and because of the time difference, I genuinely couldn’t sleep. It was deeply disheartening.

My team and I have spent years doing the hard, often invisible work of helping African students break through systemic barriers to global opportunities. Education is one of the most powerful tools for access; it opens doors, builds networks, and allows talented young people to fully realise their potential. So to watch policies repeatedly roll back that access, especially for Africans, is exhausting and heartbreaking.

This year alone, this is not the first policy to disproportionately affect Africans, and that cumulative weight matters. We fight every day to create access, yet it feels like the world keeps finding new ways to close doors.

What has made this especially painful is the human impact. We are currently supporting two exceptional young men from South Sudan, refugees with extraordinary potential who we genuinely believe could access a fully funded education in the US. Now, with South Sudan included on the full ban list, I don’t even know how to begin navigating that conversation with them.

At the same time, we’ve just concluded a very intense MBA round one cycle. Many of our clients, Nigerians on the continent and in the diaspora, have secured offers from some of the top 1% of schools in the world. We’re talking about admissions to Harvard, Columbia, and Duke, with scholarships. These students did everything right. They prepared for years, sat for the GRE or GMAT, built strong profiles, and earned these offers on merit.

And now the question they’re asking us is: what does this mean for me?

If you hold only a Nigerian passport, you currently don’t even have the option to try for a US student visa. Previously, the challenge was navigating long wait times and backlogs. Now, there is no pathway at all. No interview. No appointment. No chance. That level of uncertainty is incredibly destabilising for students and for the institutions that admitted them.

Previously, the challenge was navigating long wait times and backlogs. Now, there is no pathway at all.

As advisors, we’re having difficult, emotional calls every day. Students are confused, hurt, and scared. And while we understand the policy language, the real question is how this will play out in practice, especially when universities themselves are operating under fear and pressure. We’ve already seen international admissions tightening due to broader political forces, the rollback of DEI scholarships, and increased scrutiny of universities. This latest move compounds an already fragile system.

Right now, our priority is care and clarity. We are advising students not to panic, but to be strategic. That includes recommending that they pause on paying US school deposits, accommodation fees, or making irreversible financial commitments until there is more clarity. We’re also encouraging students to consider alternative pathways, particularly in Europe and Canada, even when their hearts are set on the US. That is not an easy conversation, but it is a necessary one.

This moment has forced us to rethink timelines, rework application strategies, and extend our support far beyond what we anticipated at the end of the year. It’s stressful. It’s emotionally draining. And it’s deeply unfair to students who have already proven they belong.

Still, we remain committed. We are showing up for our students, communicating constantly, and doing everything we can to help them navigate this uncertainty with dignity and hope. Education should be a bridge, not a battleground. And we will continue to advocate for access, equity, and opportunity, even when the doors feel heavier to push open.

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