At least 1,372 Nigerians have been granted asylum in the United States between 2022 and 2024, according to new data from the US Executive Office for Immigration Review.
In 2022, US immigration judges approved 475 Nigerian asylum requests. The number rose to 514 in 2023 but dropped to 383 in 2024 — showing a 25 per cent drop in just one year.
Among those granted asylum was 12-year-old chess champion, Tani Adewumi. His family fled Nigeria due to Boko Haram threats and got asylum in New York in late 2022, after a long legal process. Another notable case was that of LGBTQ activist and writer, Edafe Okporo, who got protection in 2024 after facing violence in Nigeria.
However, not all cases were successful. In the same three-year period, at least 1,534 Nigerians were denied asylum. The number of rejections stood at 603 in 2022, 666 in 2023, and 265 in 2024. The 2024 figure showed a 56 per cent drop compared to 2022.
The report also showed that some Nigerian cases were marked as “not adjudicated,” meaning they were not fully decided. These included 552 such cases in 2022 and a few more in the following years. Also, 68 cases were abandoned by the applicants.
Though Nigerians filed the highest number of asylum requests among African countries in 2022 and 2023, Cameroon overtook Nigeria in 2024 with 527 applicants. That year, Nigeria had 383 applicants, followed by Ethiopia with 291, Ghana with 238, and Egypt with 203.
African countries still account for only a small part of the total asylum claims in the US. Most applications come from Latin America, Asia, and parts of Europe.
In 2024, Russians received the highest number of asylum approvals, with 3,605 people granted protection. US officials said this rise is linked to people escaping forced military service and political persecution due to the war in Ukraine.
Other countries with high approval rates in 2024 included China (2,998), Venezuela (2,656), and Nicaragua (2,000). The US also gave asylum to 1,684 Salvadorans, 1,624 Hondurans, and 1,592 Guatemalans.
Meanwhile, Mexico recorded the highest number of asylum rejections in 2024 with 3,910 denials. Other countries with high rejection figures were China (903), El Salvador (2,880), Ecuador (2,774), and Peru (2,424).
Under US law, people who are already in the country can apply for asylum if they fear persecution in their home country because of their race, religion, nationality, political views, or belonging to a particular social group.
But several factors can make a claim fail, including late application, criminal history, or if the person already found safety in another country before arriving in the US.
Asylum cases are handled in two ways: some people apply voluntarily through the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (affirmative cases), while others request asylum during deportation proceedings (defensive cases).
Having strong evidence and legal support often increases the chance of success.
Although President Joe Biden reversed some tough immigration rules from the Trump era, new restrictions still make it harder for many people to apply unless they get an appointment through the US border app or show they first tried to seek asylum in another country.
The US immigration courts also face delays due to changing policies and staff shortages. Since 2019, US authorities have deported 902 Nigerians, based on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 2024 Annual Report.
