Green card holders with past criminal records face revocation, deportation

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has given a strict warning that green card holders with past criminal details face the risk of revocation of their status as lawful permanent residents (LPRs) and a subsequent deportation.

The immigration bodies reiterated this to LPRs that having a green card is a privilege, not a right.

Nigeria ranks 15th globally as those given green cards

The Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS) in a 2024 report disclosed that close to 12.8 million LPRs live in the US, with Nigerians ranking among the top African countries who are LPRs.

Nigeria was ranked 15th and the only African country out of the top 20 countries whose citizens were given US cards, with some 40,000 indigenes as recipients between 2021 – 2023.

However, the CBP stated that lawful permanent residents who present themselves at a US port of entry with criminal convictions earlier may be subject to mandatory detention.

This serves as part of the steps put in place by  US authorities to ensure tougher measures on the cardholders who disobey the law.

Meanwhile, the United States Department of State has announced immediate changes to the terms of non-immigrant visas for Nigerian nationals.

Under the new guidelines, most non-diplomatic and non-immigrant visas granted to Nigerian citizens will now be limited to a single entry and will carry a validity of just three months.

The updated regulation does not affect visas issued before 8 July 2025, which will continue to hold their original status and terms.

This revision, part of a broader global standard known as visa reciprocity, reflects ongoing efforts by the US to align its immigration protocols with international security and administrative benchmarks.

According to the US government, visa reciprocity is a dynamic framework and may be revised at any time depending on a country’s compliance with key requirements.