UPDATE 3-Trump's expanded travel ban targets Nigeria, five other countries

(Adds comment by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi)
By Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump
issued an expanded version of his travel ban on Friday that
targets prospective immigrants from Nigeria and five other
countries, a move that could affect thousands of people and
reignite debate on whether the policy is discriminatory.
Of the six countries added to the ban, four are African
nations and three have Muslim-majority populations. Democrats
and immigration advocates accuse the Trump administration of
seeking to expand its original 2017 ban that targeted
Muslim-majority countries and of disproportionately focusing on
African countries.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said during a
call with reporters that the six countries failed to meet U.S.
security and information-sharing standards, which necessitated
the new restrictions. The problems Wolf cited ranged from
sub-par passport technology to a failure to sufficiently
exchange information on terrorism suspects and criminals.
Belarus, which had been under consideration for inclusion,
took steps to remedy deficiencies in recent months and will not
face visa restrictions, Wolf said.
The United States will suspend the issuance of visas that
can lead to permanent residency for nationals of Eritrea,
Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Nigeria, a presidential proclamation
said. Temporary visas for tourists, businesspeople, students and
workers from those nations will not be affected, it said.
The U.S. government also will stop issuing "diversity visas"
to nationals of Sudan and Tanzania, the proclamation said. The
visas, which Trump has criticized, are available by lottery for
applicants from countries with low rates of immigration.
(Graphic on visas: https://tmsnrt.rs/36Hy2zz)
"These countries, for the most part, want to be helpful,"
Wolf said, "but for a variety of different reasons simply failed
to meet those minimum requirements that we laid out."
The original travel ban barred nearly all immigrants and
travelers from seven countries with majority Muslim populations.
The policy was revised amid court challenges, but the U.S.
Supreme Court ultimately upheld it in June 2018.
Trump has made cracking down on immigration a focus of his
2020 re-election campaign. His travel ban policy is popular with
Republican supporters.
The existing version of the ban includes Iran, Libya,
Somalia, Syria and Yemen. North Korea and Venezuela also face
visa bars, but those measures affect relatively few travelers.
Those restrictions will remain in place.
The new travel ban will take effect on Feb. 21, according to
the proclamation.

MOST VISAS FROM NIGERIA
U.S. Representative Joe Neguse, a Democrat from Colorado and
son of Eritrean refugees, said the updated ban unfairly singled
out allied African nations.
"It is un-American to discriminate against immigrants solely
because of where they come from or how they pray," Neguse told
reporters.
In 2015, when he was running for president, Trump called for
"a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United
States."
Three nations included in the updated ban - Kyrgyzstan,
Nigeria and Sudan - have majority Muslim populations. Eritrea
and Tanzania have sizable Muslim minorities.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the ban, calling
it "discrimination disguised as policy." She said the Democrats
would introduce legislation barring religious discrimination in
the U.S. immigration system within a few weeks.
Nigeria sends the most immigrants to the United States. The
U.S. State Department issued approximately 7,900 immigrant visas
to Nigerians in fiscal year 2018, which began Oct. 1, 2017.
Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigeria's foreign affairs minister, said
he was "disappointed" by the decision. The U.S. State Department
will host meetings in Washington on Monday and Tuesday with
Onyeama, other officials and business leaders.
The administration said the new ban was narrowly tailored.
Investor visas, which lead to permanent residence, will also
be barred. But the restrictions will not apply to skilled
foreign workers entering the United States on H-1B visas,
according to a DHS official who briefed reporters. Such visas
are temporary, but can lead to permanent residence.
Immigrants already in the United States, or who have
approved visas will be exempt from the ban, the official said.
People with pending visa requests, some of whom have waited
years, will be barred.
All applicants will be able to apply for a waiver, a process
already in place under Trump's existing ban. But a federal
lawsuit challenging the administration says the waiver process
is opaque and difficult to navigate.
The visa restrictions will not apply to refugees, according
to the official. Trump's administration has separately capped
the number of refugees allowed into the United States at 18,000
for the 2020 fiscal year, the lowest level in decades.

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GRAPHIC-Immigrant visas issued by U.S. FY 2018 https://tmsnrt.rs/36Hy2zz
EXPLAINER-Inside the plans for Trump's expanded travel ban
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