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U.S. President Donald J. Trump has issued a new executive order imposing a partial travel ban on Sierra Leone, citing high visa overstay rates and insufficient cooperation in repatriating deported nationals.
The restrictions, set to take effect on June 9, 2025, will suspend entry for Sierra Leonean nationals applying for immigrant visas and certain non-immigrant visas, including business, tourism, student, and exchange visitor visas.
The proclamation, signed on June 4, names Sierra Leone among seven countries—alongside Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela—facing partial travel restrictions. Twelve other nations, including Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Haiti, remain under a full ban.
U.S. authorities highlight Sierra Leone’s B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 15.43% and an even higher 35.83% overstay rate for student and exchange visas. The order also criticizes the West African nation for its historical reluctance to accept citizens ordered removed from the U.S., labeling it a national security risk.
The policy mirrors Trump’s earlier immigration restrictions, which targeted several Muslim-majority countries during his first term. While the Supreme Court upheld those measures, they faced widespread criticism as discriminatory.
In the latest order, Trump emphasized the need for foreign governments to improve identity verification and data-sharing practices. “The United States must ensure that admitted aliens… do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, or institutions,” the proclamation states.
Sierra Leone’s government has not yet responded to the ban.
It’s good when it was been in a good way, and also it’s good to be safe for the people.
And I want to be part of the program
That is the kind of news that some people want to hear about Sierra Leone, but God will punish all of those who want to hear bad news about mama salone all in the name of politics
Mohamed Bangali, it is very interesting that this is what you bring up. Only 19 countries are on this current ban list and only 7 on the partial ban. While the US is citing high overstay rates, I doubt very much these 7 countries have the highest overstay rates, surely, there must be other countries with rates higher than ours. So what are the not stated reasons? Could our tiff tiff, drug hiding president be one of the reasons? You talk about those wanting to hear bad news but ignore those at the top destroying our country’s name and reputation.
Having spent my first ever long stay of 3 months in Sierra leone it has opened my eyes how we, Sierra leonean, see ourselves as always innocent victims in contrast to the different perception the world see us as a maligned nation either harbouring bad content or exporting it.
Sadly, Sierra Leoneans are complacent to the point of being complicit in how we are negatively perceived. The actions of a few of our august private and public institutions are taken as an acceptable norm from our day to day encounters to the very noble powers that overseas our relationship externally.
There is a cultural lack for expressing real dissatisfaction (without violence) of the malfunctioning services around us. Apathy rules. We have lost hope in affecting change, with exception to usual grumbles to anyone that may listen.
There is no civic pride nor national sense of we are in it together. The turning of a blind eye to what is patently wrong continues like it is as normal as the coming of the raining season.
If we are exporting these values why would another country extend their arms to welcome us?