US moves to restrict Nigerian students to two-year courses

US moves to restrict Nigerian students to two-year courses

The United States is seeking new guidelines that could restrict some international students, including those from Nigeria, from admission of more than two-year period.

If approved, the new guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mean affected students will be barred from four-year courses in the US.

It is not immediately clear when the policy will take effect.

It is also unclear whether it will affect students currently in the US, in spite of their status document.

Ordinarily, valid status document provides legal grounds for students to continue their study in the US, whether or not their student visas have expired.

But in the new measures published in the US federal register and scheduled for announcement on Friday,  the DHS proposed a “maximum admission period of up to 2 years for certain students”, including those from Nigeria.

Among the countries targeted in the new policy are those on the US “State sponsor of terrorism list” and students from countries that visitors have overstay rate of more than 10 percent.

The new proposal is the latest of numerous policies introduced by the Trump administration targeting migrants in the US.