Monrovia, Liberia – According to a confidential State Department report, Liberia is one of 36 nations that may soon be subject to additional travel restrictions from the United States. This may be an extension of the travel ban that was in place during the Trump administration.
The U.S. daily examined the document earlier this month, which lists a number of immigration and security requirements that these nations including Liberia are reportedly not meeting. The most important of them is the problem of excessive U.S. visa overstays, which Washington has recently taken a keen interest in.
The addition of Liberia on the list of countries that might be prohibited from traveling is not surprising to immigration specialists. According to a June 2024 report by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a startling 49.48 percent of Liberians who were granted B-1/B-2 nonimmigrant visas in Fiscal Year 2022 did not depart the country at the conclusion of their permitted stay. 29.95 percent of those with nonimmigrant student visas overstayed. Liberia is among the poorest performing nations in the world, with a startling 82.03 percent non-return rate for all visa categories.
This information is included in the yearly “Entry/Exit Overstay Report” published by the U.S. government, which tracks how well foreign individuals are adhering to the conditions of their temporary U.S. visas. Liberia reported 572 anticipated air and sea departures, but more than half of those visitors stayed in the country illegally, making them suspected “in-country overstays,” according to the 2022 results.
The Washington Post quoted a State Department paper that makes it apparent that failing to address these problems might lead to targeted immigration bans, although it does not indicate when limits could be implemented.
In addition to worries about visa overstays, the document highlights more general structural problems that exclude nations from U.S. immigration confidence. These include a history of document fraud, a lack of trustworthy civil documentation systems, and a government’s limited ability to confirm national identities. It pointed out that several of the nations had citizenship-by-investment programs that let people obtain citizenship without having to live there, which might be a gateway for unauthorized immigration.
The study also mentioned how policy suggestions were influenced by allegations of antisemitic or anti-American attitudes held by citizens of several of the nations on the list. It does point out that some of the harsher sanctions may be avoided by countries that are prepared to receive third-country nationals who have been removed from the United States or who are prepared to sign “safe third country” agreements.
Often seen as America’s closest traditional partner in Africa, Liberia is currently dealing with the fallout from a migration crisis that American officials claim is more legal than diplomatic.
U.S. Ambassador to Liberia Mark C. Toner emphasized the gravity of the issue in October 2024. He acknowledged that more than half of Liberians who enter the country on tourist visas do not return, saying that this has a big impact on the U.S. Embassy’s decision-making process in a radio interview with the state broadcaster ELBC. “The overstay rate, which is more than 50 percent, has an impact on how embassy officers evaluate the cases,” Toner said.
The Ambassador made it apparent that honesty and adherence to visa restrictions are essential in preserving travel rights, even if he emphasized that visa denials are not political. “Liberians, please return within the time frame if you visit the United States, as that is the only way the calculation can be lowered,” he said.
According to U.S. State Department data, Liberia’s visa refusal rate for 2023–2024 was already 78.19 percent, the fourth highest in the world. This further reflects Liberian tourists’ rising mistrust of compliance.
These changes might significantly limit options for thousands of Liberians hoping to study, work, or visit family in the United States.
Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Egypt, and Syria are among the 35 additional countries that the United States is keeping an eye on. Many of these countries are low- and middle-income countries that struggle with unstable regimes or have inadequate capability for biometric and identity verification systems.
