₦airaland Forum

Not to sound like a broken record here but below is Trump's tweet on Twitter!

Immigration will get VERY tough for folks from developing countries!

A very Happy Thanksgiving salutation to all of our Great American Citizens and Patriots who have been so nice in allowing our Country to be divided, disrupted, carved up, murdered, beaten, mugged, and laughed at, along with certain other foolish countries throughout the World, for being “Politically Correct,” and just plain STUPID, when it comes to Immigration. The official United States Foreign population stands at 53 million people (Census), most of which are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels. They and their children are supported through massive payments from Patriotic American Citizens who, because of their beautiful hearts, do not want to openly complain or cause trouble in any way, shape, or form. They put up with what has happened to our Country, but it’s eating them alive to do so! A migrant earning $30,000 with a green card will get roughly $50,000 in yearly benefits for their family. The real migrant population is much higher. This refugee burden is the leading cause of social dysfunction in America, something that did not exist after World War II (Failed schools, high crime, urban decay, overcrowded hospitals, housing shortages, and large deficits, etc.). As an example, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota. Somalian gangs are roving the streets looking for “prey” as our wonderful people stay locked in their apartments and houses hoping against hope that they will be left alone. The seriously retarded Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, does nothing, either through fear, incompetence, or both, while the worst “Congressman/woman” in our Country, Ilhan Omar, always wrapped in her swaddling hijab, and who probably came into the U.S.A. illegally in that you are not allowed to marry your brother, does nothing but hatefully complain about our Country, its Constitution, and how “badly” she is treated, when her place of origin is a decadent, backward, and crime ridden nation, which is essentially not even a country for lack of Government, Military, Police, schools, etc. Even as we have progressed technologically, Immigration Policy has eroded those gains and living conditions for many. I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization. These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorized and illegal Autopen approval process. Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation. Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long!

Life’s a great balancing act. As immigrants, we need safety nets too and urgently.

Note that Nigeria entered that list of particular concern again October 31, 2025 (bad and incompetent leadership delivers the same value anywhere).

The US (State Department and Trump) are now calling mass migration an “existential threat”. The implication is that pervasive anti-immigration policies are about to be birthed. Folks, start working on your safety nets today as even the UK may not be safe much longer.

It will be bad and will wreck immigrants. We would be shocked. The fatal shooting of the 2 service people with the National Guard will really spur very bitter and very ill intentioned anti-immigration policies. Please start asking yourselves really hard questions and assessing various what-if scenarios so you are prepared for the worst case scenario. The worst thing that can happen to anyone is to be caught unawares like many are with the 10+1 and 15+1 policies in the UK.

The UK can sir. It will amount to two things. If done with sane people, you will have inflation no doubt but massive increase in productivity that will mop up the inflation. Government spending without productivity reforms (planning reform, infrastructure investment, innovation policy) will lead to inflation without growth.

The UK needs supply-side reforms alongside fiscal policy. This is something neither Labour nor Conservatives have delivered. If the UK government goes on a spending binge, money will chase what little assets there are – property and money funds (pensions, bonds, etc.). Asset prices will rise (law of demand and supply), poor people will become poorer (currency devaluation) while the rich see their valuation go up (they become richer). China is not a democracy so she can control capital utilisation and mandate policies to address national priorities – no elections in China so no one is not worried about re-election.

RodgersAkpafu:
But the Chinese are spending insane amounts of money to keep their own ship sailing
So why cant UK do same ?

I am not actually. I am just commonsense leaning. I don’t hold the view that systems should be perfect; it is the imperfection that creates opportunities for exploitation. Politicians should be able to create enabling policies that stimulate growth, protect the vulnerable and ensure equity. That’s all. What we have today is a charade.

US companies overvalued? How would you value them? I agree with the general notion of being overvalued maybe by a tad, but we live in an intangible world where the price of a company today is based on what shareholders deem the future value of that business will be tomorrow. What has generated this for the US is intellectual property (IP). The US leads in IP. IP is a knock-on effect of innovation. When you walk the streets in your community, do you see innovation? Have you gotten an idea and mistakenly shared it with someone and they write you a £50k check to go validate the idea and you don’t know them? That is the US. The UK cannot do that because it is inherently risk averse. Brits don’t take risks. The safest investments are properties and pension. We don’t talk about IP.

Let me give you a painful statistic. When you calculate GDP/Capita by states in the US, the top 3 and the bottom 3 are (based on 2024 data): New York: $117,332, Massachusetts: $110,561, Washington: $108,468, West Virginia: $60,783, Arkansas: $60,276 and Mississippi: $53,061. For the UK, the GDP/capita for London, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow are $87,600, $37,000, $49,000, and $63,000. These figures may vary by source. What this means is that the least US state by GDP/capita which is Mississippi fares more than 90% of UK cities. The Northern cities are not thriving; they are relics of a time. UK is falling behind peer economies.

Agreed, we went to the polls and got what we have now. See, I have no qualms with who is at No 10 if they can deliver on their promises. The economy is messed up. We have had no growth for over a decade and even the OBR is predicting 0-1% growth over the next 5 years. That is terrible. We are seeing what labour can deliver – more poverty, increased unemployment, increased cost of doing business, and increased inefficiency in public services (record high numbers in Civil Service – aha you will say, this is right leaning. No sir. It is just maths. An inefficient system wastes resources), etc.

RodgersAkpafu:
Seems you are right wing/ right leaning

First, these US companies are very overvalued

That's one

Second, the idea that UK ex London is a third world country is ludicrous

There are thriving Northern Cities like Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow etc

Third, the UK govt is doing what they have to, to keep the boat going

The tories have tried it the right wing way and brought nothing but chaos
Lets see what Labour will achieve with their own style

You are ruthless in your assessment of the Brits.

For the immigrant, the present need is certainty around settlement and mobility (opportunities). I will go a little academic here and adopt the popular Capabilities Approach theorem to support my thesis. According to Hillerbrand, capability can be defined as the set of alternative combinations of ‘functionings’ that can feasibly be achieved by a person. These functionings concern what a person is and what they can do.

A British person can travel worldwide with limited hindrances visa wise. However, national policies around work or the ability to access opportunities that require residency status constrain the Brits ability to access these opportunities in the places they can travel to for visit.

A Nigerian, with a UK global talent visa, a Canada PR (added to excessively show the benefit) and a US green card while vulnerable to limitations occasioned by visa policies for other countries (if they choose to visit) does enjoy more “work” opportunities than the British person and hence has a higher functioning than the British person since they have more jurisdictions where they can work and access opportunities that require residency status.

Were the British person to apply for the necessary visas to work in the US and Canada, of course that will change the dynamics.

Assumption: The key assumption here is that travel for visit does not offer superior benefits to being able to work and reside in a place.

RodgersAkpafu:
Your thesis is very debatable though

It only holds if the British passport holder is a carer changing pampers and the Nigerian passport holder is like a finance/tech professional with PhD and a nice profile

even at that. the Nigerian will struggle with mobility because of visa bottlenecks

Bottlenecks a carer with British kpali wont face

its dicey sha and can be expanded on further

Just a thought. I did NIW too but that was when the US was still sane - I got my NIW under 3 weeks (no premium). You can try EB1 and pay for premium so you eliminate the 19-21 months delay in getting a feedback. I believe Trump is deliberately trying to lower legal migration since deportation isn't working as fast as he intended. RFEs as someone indicated are very high nowadays but if your petition is solid you are fine.

Also, have you given Australia a thought? They have the NIV (National Innovation Visa which is a permanent residence visa). If you have attributes for an EB1 and EB2 you can test it by submitting an EOI. It varies for individuals but you can give it a shot. It is free to put in an EOI. The only issue is you have 60 days to apply when you get invited. So best shot is to do the EOI along with getting someone or a provincial govt or a business to help fill out your Form 1000.

Lastly, China also has the K visa. Recently launched but more like the UK's global talent visa. No employer needed.

My thesis is that in the interim, broader mobility beats citizenship. Someone with residency status in the UK (global talent) and US (EB2/EB1) beats a Nigerian with British passport in accessing opportunities.

HustlaOfLagos:
Long wait per usual

Got something for me?

I honestly don't think the Labour Government have any clue what they're doing to people and their aspirations. Starting a business as a young person today is virtually impossible. There's no growth happening in the UK. If you take away financial services, which is basically just London, what you're left with is effectively a third world country.

Here's a staggering comparison: Nvidia today has a market cap of $4.5 trillion. The UK has a GDP of $3.64 trillion. The entire UK stock market is valued at $3.42 trillion. Think about that. If Nvidia were to list on the LSE today, it would represent 57% of our entire stock market. One company. You add Microsoft and Facebook and Apple and OpenAI (not listed) and SpaceX (not listed) and you start seeing that the UK is a proper mathematical factor of the US economy - a joke.

Immigrants are going to suffer tremendously. Without access to income protection and safety nets, they'll be the first ones hit when the private sector faces headwinds. Working families will be utterly crushed. The frozen income tax thresholds mean that as salaries inflate, people get pushed into higher tax brackets, absolutely decimating their purchasing power. Energy prices? They're set to spiral completely out of control. With all the AI infrastructure being built across London and Slough, and the massive upgrades needed for substations, transmission lines, and generating capacity, bills could easily double or quadruple over the next three to five years. This is genuinely dangerous. Households will literally be competing with data centres for electricity, driving prices through the roof.

Young people have it the worst. Coming out of school to find no jobs, no internships, no graduate programmes. Companies are capping these schemes or shutting them down entirely, offshoring to cheaper locations in Asia and South America instead. Many will enter into the benefit system, some will migrate to survive (now almost impossible), a few will become truants or just try their hands on something.

I genuinely cannot understand why any government would set out to be this brutal and out of touch. In developing economies, bad policies are already priced into expectations of citizen misery so no shock on the system (there is no amount of shock that Nigerians can face today from budget presentation. We have priced in the worst case). But in a developed economy, bad policies create brutal shocks that ripple through society and can actually collapse the economy. We saw this with Kwasi's short lived budget. And now introducing tax on electric vehicles this early? That's a new low from this government.

The fact that breakfast clubs for school kids is their solution to child poverty just shows how completely out of their depth these people are. It is not looking good at all for the UK and its residents.

@jedisco

It seems my response to you was hidden twice.

Good catch. Hopefully, I can return to my old account soon.

The issues you address re pension and property and your points are valid if and only if certain assumptions hold true. First, that policies continue to remain protective as they are without changing too much tomorrow to impact people. Second, that people can muster the financial strength to wrangle through the potential implications such as taxes and associated compliance that may exist. Third, that people have measures in place to ensure that on their demise, their estate can be fairly accessed by their heirs. I shall set forth to provide more details.

First, we are no strangers to pervasive policies that have been enacted worldwide and historically. Throughout history, governments have restricted non-citizens' economic rights through wartime measures (where asset freezes and confiscations occurred during declared or undeclared conflicts), racial/ethnic targeting (where laws are coded as nationality-based but designed to target specific groups), economic warfare (with redistribution policies framed as correcting historical injustices), national security (post-9/11 measures and sanctions regimes), limited due process (administrative seizures without criminal convictions), difficulty accessing compensation (with long delays, inadequate payments, or no restitution), etc. These policies have consistently resulted in substantial financial losses, displacement, and long-term economic hardship for affected communities, with compensation efforts often proving inadequate or taking decades to materialize. It may be possible to argue that one is merely being over-dramatic, but seeing that one’s base nationality is Nigerian that has on the international stage be threatened with invasion and even designated as a “now disgraced country”, and that the next 2-5 sets of leadership over the next 25 years that will be emerging in most of these developed countries are going to be nationalistic with very extreme tendencies, I do not think it is safe for immigrants to invest their foundational wealth in these countries. Proceeds of such [foundational] wealth could be invested in such countries, but the base (or foundational wealth) needs to be mobile. I am essentially advocating for a tiered wealth protection strategy based on legal vulnerability. This is because during nationalism, or political shifts, non-citizens are legally vulnerable in ways citizens are not. Historically, the cycle is openness then crises then restriction then scapegoating then confiscation. I note here @jedisco that you hold British Citizenship. You have a protection that many immigrants may never have. This changes the dynamics for you.

Second, it is now becoming VERY expensive to maintain accountability as we migrate. The ongoing administrative and financial burden of maintaining cross-border tax compliance can indeed be so substantial that it effectively erodes or even negates the value of maintaining investments across multiple jurisdictions. This represents a different kind of “cost” than outright confiscation, but it is no less real for migrants. For US residents (GC holders and citizens), some overseas investments are tax inefficient (please this is not financial advice – just my opinion). Offshore Investment Bonds (deemed as Passive Foreign Investment Companies or PFICs), QROPS and ISAs, which although favourable from a UK taxation perspective, they are considered toxic investments in the U.S. U.S. taxpayers investing in Canadian funds may encounter PFIC rules that trigger unfavourable tax treatment unless handled carefully. Many overseas institutions will severe relationships with you once you acquire a US citizenship or permanent residency status due to the compliance burdens imposed by FACTA. Recent reforms including the abolition of the UK Lifetime Allowance, the removal of exemptions on Overseas Transfer Tax for some cross-border pension transfers, and the inclusion of pension benefits into inheritance taxes could all have considerable impact on finance planning. For many migrants, the economically rational choice becomes to liquidate cross-border investments rather than maintain them. This is not because of confiscation, but because compliance costs make them financially unviable. This represents a form of administrative confiscation through complexity, where the barrier is not a government seizing property but making it so burdensome to keep that disposal becomes the only practical option. Again, I note @jedisco that you are a PR in Canada. Unlike (rather than similar to) you, I hold a US green card which means my reality is totally different from what you may face. Another dimension for a dual national with a third PR like you. We may have similar bases (Nigerian and British citizenship, but our realities tax wise change at Canada/US route).

Third, there is a real vulnerability in cross-border estate planning that many immigrants face: assets held in countries where neither the deceased nor their heirs have legal status can become legally complicated, expensive, or even inaccessible to recover. For instance,
different countries have vastly different inheritance laws, probate processes, and requirements for foreign heirs. Some countries impose heavy estate taxes on non-residents, require local legal representation (expensive), or have lengthy probate processes that can take years. If heirs are minors living abroad, the complexity multiplies. They may need court-appointed guardians or trustees recognized by foreign courts. Also, there is the documentation burden that heirs could face. Documents need to be apostilled (I am assuming no translation since we are all English speaking), proof of relationship, proof of death recognized by foreign jurisdictions, and sometimes must physically appear in the country where assets are held. For young heirs or those without the resources to navigate foreign legal systems, this creates real barriers. We must not also ignore the fact that some investments like businesses, rental properties, or accounts with maintenance requirements can deteriorate in value during prolonged probate, especially if heirs cannot access them quickly. My argument here is that setting up international estate structures like offshore trusts, properly drafted wills valid in multiple jurisdictions, powers of attorney etc., can cost thousands to tens of thousands of pounds, which many working immigrants simply cannot afford while building their lives.

My caution is this: do not put your survival at the mercy of a system where you are a second-class participant. This is not paranoia. This is understanding the legal and political reality of being an immigrant, especially in an age of rising nationalism and resource competition.

I agree that it is tragic that this level of defensive thinking is necessary. But given historical precedent and current trends, keeping your foundational wealth only where you have full legal protection is prudent risk management, not excessive caution. I am not against investing in the UK for immigrants without settled status, I am saying foundational wealth should be in places where you have the most protection as a citizen. I must also note that we must appreciate seeing things from the perspective of most immigrants who may never acquire settled status in the UK or elsewhere and who may also not have the sophistication to navigate the complex realities involved in cross border management of investments.

Kemi Badenoch is brutal. I hope she keeps this up.

Unfortunately, UK is toast. They (this Labour Govt) will use inflation to generate growth and push more people into poverty. Salary earners are double toasted.

It is clear Labour have no idea on how to run anything.

I have never seen where government in a developed economy is the biggest employer keeping jobs growth positive - it is down in every private sector since the disastrous autumn budget according to the ONS and only up in admin and healthcare (govt).

Kemi: "Her speech today was an exercise in self delusion"

Kemi: "... I interrupt your Cheerios to bring you this frightening message about income tax..."

Absolutely brilliant!

IMmigration As A Service (IMAAS)

Folks, I introduce to you the new subscription model that the UK and other countries will be rolling out in the coming years – IMmigration As A Service (IMAAS).

What is IMAAS? IMMAS is an immigration subscription model that places immigrants on limited visa (leave to remain) with regular extension to the visa necessary to maintain valid status. Immigrants on IMAAS have no route to ever getting ILR or citizenship unless by exception (subject to existing rules that may allow for this).

Is this possible? Yes. Countries in the middle east currently have this model at play. Application of IMAAS already exists in the UK for certain visa classes that do not offer you access to settlement and citizenship.

What are the implications of IMAAS becoming the defacto visa route in the UK? Many. First, it completes the process of SLAVERY 2.0 which the UK has tried to implement under previous governments. In SLAVERY 1.0 the slaves were paid by the masters for their loyalty. In SLAVERY 2.0, the slaves will be the ones paying the masters while offering their loyalty for free. With IMAAS, rights of immigrants will be permanently limited. Most immigrants will need to have a job in perpetuity to maintain status. IMAAS fees can be adjusted as the government pleases to either throttle immigration numbers or raise more revenue. Most importantly, under IMAAS, your historical residence loses meaning. Under current visa rules, time spent in the UK matters. Some families with school age kids who could not secure new COS due to loss of job but having spent more than 3 years with their families usually end up with free extended grants given to them by the Home Office recognising that some integration had already occurred. Under IMAAS, such considerations are no longer needed. Losing status will mean you are out of the country tomorrow. You disagree with your neighbour, and the police get involved? Goodbye to the UK.

Route to settlement and citizenship? Under IMAAS, accessing settlement and citizenship will now be based solely on recommendation. An entrepreneur who has a unicorn? Welcome aboard. A global talent visa holder who has groundbreaking research and wins a Field Marshall Prize? Welcome aboard. A long standing committed social worker who has been delivering care services to the elderly for the past 30 years in one NHS Trust, welcome aboard. Think of how the UK gives out all those MBEs and OBEs and DBEs, etc. Settlement and citizenship will follow such route. A few hundreds every year and everyone in check.

Is this the right choice for me? You will need to assess your immigration goals to arrive at a conclusion. You can always consult a qualified immigration lawyer for advice.

Is owning property and investing in pension worth it? You will need to assess your long-term financial goals to arrive at a conclusion. Please consult a qualified financial advisor for advice.

You said what? Hold my beer. They are worse. The US now has a policy in place where they can deny you visa (immigrant and non-immigrant) for being obese or having certain diseases like diabetes and hypertension amongst others.

HustlaOfLagos:
I can bet my left balls that if it was US citizens, they would not dare make the rules this restrictive

https://x.com/RupertLowe10/status/1991924018656788506?s=20

This Twitter thread is really eye opening. If we ever get a Reform or right leaning government, immigration policies will be worse.

Abuse is not the main issue. The main issues here are that the British people are reacting to change, and the system is facing pressure. They feel they are becoming strangers in the land and that migration has lowered wages (very true). You will realise how angry they are when you note that UK universities are collapsing (literally) and the UK government does not care. They literally are willing to cut their heads just to spite their noses. They must now show the people (White Brits) that they care about their feelings by driving down net migration numbers and fast.

The issue with advice that advocated people chill to get their passport and shift to anything made 2 wrong assumptions. First, the advice assumed certainty over migration policies. That is a No-No. Second, the advice failed to consider the skill and knowledge gap created when switching roles especially from roles in HC. Maintaining such stand in the face of the latest policy will be unwise. Immigrants have no control over immigration policies which nullifies any sense of settlement. Immigrants always have to assume the worst case and plan for alternatives at all times – steeze must be maintained at all times.

justwise:
Yes I still share the same sentiment.

What is happening now is not unexpected considering the level of abuse carried out by mainly Nigerians and Indians, I only feel sorry for genuine visa holders who played by the book but unfortunately the sins of others are rubbed on innocent ones.

The policy is very very harsh beyond what I anticipated but no country will tolerate this level of visa abuse, though UKIV helped in someways encouraged the abuse.

I am happy to see this argument. I remembered when we were here celebrating the MAC report because it said we made more contribution to the economy than Brits – we need to do better as a people in understanding how these British folks operate. Now we are seeing the true agenda of that MAC report. It was to set the tone for successive punitive policies.

If we had majority of our grads going on to set up businesses, create products, create jobs, or get high level paying roles, the discussion today would have been different. Imagine that we even had more of our grad leaving the UK to become highfliers elsewhere, the UK would have created a similar youth visa scheme like India for our grads. Today, I am happy to see interest in the Innovator Visa but again I must advice that we apply wisdom. That route will become another scam when they start moving the goal post. Tomorrow they can come up with policies advising that your business must have met certain thresholds (revenue, staff/employee numbers, etc. to qualify you for settlement). Applying is not the problem, generating growth is.

Imagine someone in their mid 40’s coming into the UK with HCA visa in 2022 and having to spend 16+x years to become a British Citizen. My statistical analysis on the demography of folks (adults>=18years) who came in between 2022 and 2024 using my UK location as case study (N=400+) shows an average age in the range 38-42. More than half came in with their families. How then do they process the fact that due to yesterday’s policy, they may have to see their dream of becoming settled move from 2027-2029 to 2037-2039?

HustlaOfLagos:
If you did not anticipate all these despite all the statistics they have been publishing for at least 2 years, then you should rescind the advice you gave at the time.

Advising MSc holders to be on minimum wage jobs for 5 years is not it and definitely not what the UK wants / expected to happen when the student visa stuff was open around 2021. This formed the basis of what was said by The Migration Advisory Committee and is part of the reason why we are seeing these crazy rules

You will not find a British MSc holder doing care jobs.

It is safe to say we are amid major technological transformation that many credibly call a fourth industrial revolution while acknowledging that the full historical significance may only be clear in retrospect.

Common patterns that have emerged across the 2nd and 3rd IR include: economic disruption which creates anxiety (new technology displaces workers, even as it creates new opportunities elsewhere), migration following opportunity (people move toward industrial centres and economic growth), cultural backlash emerges (rapid change in communities' composition triggers resistance), scapegoating occurs (immigrants and foreign competition get blamed for economic disruption that is actually driven by technology) and political responses intensify (leaders promise to "protect" workers through restrictions and tariffs).

Let us get something very clear about modern day immigration policy – it is increasingly stratified by perceived economic value.
Healthcare worker on low salary – restricted
Global talent visa holder – welcome

As morally troubling as this might sound it is now clear that a person who owns valuable IP is playing a different game than someone selling labour, no matter how critical that labour is.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is not just about AI and automation. It is about the complete reorganization of value around intangible assets. Immigration policy is slowly catching up to this reality, creating a bifurcated system: harsh restrictions on labour, competition for IP holders.

My thesis: do not be labour, be IP. That is a hard path, but it might be the most viable one in an increasingly restrictionist world.

I know this because it is what everyone is looking for today. China is looking for US based experts with IP. US EB1/EB2 will gladly wave you through with IP. Australia and some its provinces will nominate you one time for the NIV if you have IP. As funny as it sounds, no one is looking for labour that desperately (they have too much options).

Yanis Varoufakis in his book Technofeudalism opines that we are getting back to the ages where labour was not a commodity that was sold. He argues that in the olden days, people mostly lived as serfs on lands owned by feudal lords. They farmed on these farms and paid rent to these Lords of the produce they harvested. He argues that the rise of big tech is creating such a world where we would be forced to "rent" everything from them. As we get more automation and big tech gets more consolidated and bigger we would be forced to subscribe for almost all services. Jobs become scarcer because of AI and automation.

If this is the future, what happens to the majority who cannot be IP creators? UBI funded by taxing platforms? Neo-feudal dependence? Political upheaval? New economic models we have not imagined? The trends are real. Whether they crystallize into full technofeudalism depends on choices we make politically and economically in the next decade.

Your strategy should be this – build IP, own assets (IP based assets), do not just sell labour (selling labour is unfortunately the rational individual response to these trends). The tragedy is that it this cannot work for everyone, which means we need collective solutions too.

On the comical side (no harm intended), the birthing in the US thread on Nairaland literally died when trump with one stroke of the pen ended birth tourism for non-US citizens and PRs. It seems we may see the same for the thread on UK property. If people now have no assurance on their future status, it makes investing in property, pension, SIPP almost toxic for immigrants. Will you be paying pension for a future you may not be entitled to? Imagine people who have paid pension for 5 years and now have to emigrate elsewhere? What happens to the money sunk into the UK pension system? Imagine those who have bought property thinking they were on a path to settlement and now have to emigrate elsewhere. What happens to their property (someone says sell it)? Immigrants MUST be mindful of not allowing themselves become tools to enrich the Prince’s Trust and UK PLC. Deploy that resource in securing alternative options for yourself. Until you have that settlement, be very careful in making certain kinds of investments.

Just to reiterate.

The UK is uninvestable - Jonathan Oppenheimer and Magda Wierzycka at Bloomberg Africa Business Summit.

I know first hand because investors told me. Oh and for Oxford and Cambridge - I was told they do not count as centres of excellence anymore. Do you folks have anyone on your board with degrees from an m7? E don cast.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wlf3ICjDtk

Nigeria has always been a disgraced country for the better part of the last six decades. It has been on a steady decline since after 1960. There was nothing wrong in having hope, but thinking Nigeria was ever THE option for any millennial was an undoing by itself.

Immigration has also never been an issue for us - we have had waves especially during the military era. The issue is that prospects have been declining rather fast. The worry is that we never quantified benefits. Coming from Nigeria and landing in the UK with the arbitrage in earnings made us think we had arrived. By the close of yesterday, it was blurry for a lot of folks. Hopefully things start to clear up over the weekend.

That Nigeria is "gone" does not automatically create opportunities for us outside. It is now tougher and more expensive than ever to emigrate to these sane countries. Our issues back home unfortunately do not constitute an emergency overseas. I can say immigration from Nigeria will decline steadily for the next decade.

Student route - e don cast.
HCA - e don cast
Visit visa - visa lottery
GTvisa - e don cast
Skilled worker visa/sponsorship license - e don cast

RodgersAkpafu:
with the shambolic state of that disgraced country

I bet you more and more Nigerians are taking their chance here

You nailed it.

As painful as the UK’s latest policy may be, what is even more shocking is the painful economic reality brewing. I posit that the UK may have to close the route to settlement and citizenship for most immigrants in the next 5 years as harsh economic realities bite harder. What the UK has done with the latest policy is normalise retroactive policies. This is crucial. By normalising retroactive policies, they can then proceed to enact even more punitive policies that will make migrants perpetual slaves limiting their access to settlement and the benefit system.

The reason the UK MUST do this is to preserve the power of the UK passport and reduce stress on the system. If countries in EU and the 5 eyes (US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) start sensing that the UK is becoming the conduit for residents of third world countries to access them, they will start erecting measures against UK citizens.

My advice to younger folks here is simple – start building options smartly - "the UK don cast". Within the UK, what can you do for the short/medium term? Outside the UK, what options exist? Don’t limit yourself to the UK alone, have options so you don’t get stranded. Tough times are coming economically, and you don’t want to get left out in the open holding the bag.

Raalsalghul:
Let me just state this here for the sake of posterity. Anybody on this group that thinks they should just accept the new terms (whether 10/15 years) and continue living your life, be ready to accept that you are not going to get that ILR. The goal post will continue to shift until it is out of your reach and impossible for you to attain.

The above is for those that think they can wing through it and continue living life.

So, all those money saved for mortgage deposit start redirecting it towards other endeavours and stop investing on British soil. Your visa fees and taxes are enough

My people, my people. One thing I like about us is that we are so gifted in solving the problems of others. The issue is that we lack the ability to solve our own problems.

Nigeria is a very unequal country that has created unequal outcomes for its people. Fortunate folks here who have been educated cheaply across professions in Nigeria are here pontificating on symptoms forgetting that the underlying issue is simple - no justice in the land. we have escaped so we can now talk.

When I got into Airforce primary school during one of the military regime, my parents knew no military officer. I had scored 100% in the entrance exam and was seventh on the line - 6 folks ahead of me had also scored 100%. They were ranked ahead of me because their surnames came before mine. We were guaranteed admission because of our scores, but as usual, everything military na discipline. A random military personnel (a newly commissioned officer) had gone on an errand for his Oga (a colonel). While returning he saw my mum under tree. He approached her and asked her if she had a child seeking admission. My mom, a lawyer with the state government at the time answered to the affirmative. He walked with my mom to where I was on the queue, tapped me and signalled to the admission folks that I was his candidate. Apparently, as a commissioned officer, he had a slot but had no one. I became his candidate just like that (nothing happened between the man and my mum for those who may want to think this far). I was classmate with the daughter of the MILAD for the state - we were in the same class! When I got into university, it was the same thing. I wrote my JAMB, did my interview with department and my name appeared on the merit list (14 people for round 1). I did not know anyone. My parents knew no one. I was schoolmates with folks from average homes. When I got scholarship to go overseas same thing. That was the Nigeria I grew up in.

In uni, after paying accommodation fees as a new student, students protested that the accommodation fee was high. The uni and SU agreed on a reduced price and I was refunded the difference at statistics department. That was where they were handling refunds for tech and science students. My average earning parents could afford my fees and monthly upkeep as a uni student. As a student, even when Nigeria had become very bad, you could still see policies in place with long-term plans. Jonathan came up with Pressid - blank check to go to any top 20 school in the world for masters and PhD. Just have a first class, write the CBT exam and once they pick you, shikena. "Daura" came and cancelled it. When I got funding for PG studies, I did not need to know anyone. I did not get letter for anyone. Did my interview and was selected. Systems based on merit and just outcomes produce excellent results because no one feels left behind. My classmates who were interested in more money applied for all kinds of scholarships and got them - Chevron, NLNG, Shell, MTN, PTDF, etc. I knew folks from average homes grossing 300K NGN yearly on scholarships. This was Nigeria.

When you see the youths causing chaos in the north or under bridge in the west, one thing is clear - the system has no provision or safety net for them. The system is better off leveraging them as tools for mischief across society. We fail to understand that these folks have lost any sense of self with. They have no value for themselves. Their main goal is survival. When man has been reduced to that level, he is now a beast. You cannot blame a child who has been abandoned by family and society and turns to theft to survive. Many people will shout - they can work hard. Indeed - "Werey la fin wo werey"

All of the killings can be attributed to neglect for these folks by society. SLS was alleged to have led youths in killing an igbo man during the Abacha era and was saved by the emir. Today, trace the outcome for those youths. The same SLS has gone on to school and even head our CBN. Where are his accomplices? I won't be surprised if they are ones carrying staff like ibakasiẹ for SLS around town. When First Bank UK did their 40th anniversary celebration in London, I was invited and saw this same SLS there. I did not see any of his so called ibakasiẹ with him. He leaves them in Nigeria because that is where they belong.

Whether it was before the civil war or after, all killings have been largely enabled because society failed to enforce safety nets for children. If there is a mandatory SSCE/NABTEB minimum qualification for a young person in Nigeria and national respect for education as a country, we won't be having the issues we are confronting today. Go to DRC, Sudan and elsewhere where the countries are in chaos and see how lack of proper structures to enable young people develop self worth is creating new breeds of beasts.

No one is in support of the killings, but we as a society have failed. Going by our arguments here, it means if we attain leadership position, we would be unable to address the root cause.

I am however beginning to realise that hope is not in sight. When you see news such as this - https://allafrica.com/stories/202511100176.html that Nigeria is attempting to break GWR record for longest dining table, you shake your head and spend the rest of the day crying for young people who will have their lives damaged for no fault of theirs.

I am almost forced to think that a terrible agenda is playing out that might worsen things for Nigerians with the US. First, I believe we can count on our fingers how many folks have got their ILs in the EB1/EB2 category in the last 2 years. Nigerians here who were fortunate to transfer their applications to other countries have progressed and even relocated and forgotten their experience.

With Nigerians now subject to 3 months B1/B2 visa lottery (it has become a lottery) and with DJT's recent statement calling Nigeria a "now disgraced country", I hope we don't see a situation where stylishly Nigeria gets retrogressed like India and China. I mean government departments in the US are practically converting presidential statements on Truth Social into policy. DHS/USCIS will be very happy to implement this. My thinking is that since DJT is finding it difficult to meet the flying colours records set by Obama and Biden, he has resorted to stalling legal migration to bring the overall migration numbers down. If that is the case, then sorry is the case.

What many people are not noting is the pain and frustration this process is bringing on to people. My entire process took 2 years. Applied and got my i140 under 2.5 weeks (not priority o). Became DQ'd after 6 months and then waited for another 19 months to interview and shortly after relocated. Today, I go out and meet scores of Nigerians and I am shocked that they are only half of a family. Spouse is here with some kids and the other spouse is back in Nigeria with the other kids. Families are being destroyed for no reason. Families together back home are confused. People cannot plan. It is not as if anything "good" is happening in the Nigeria. People are just wasting time.

Now, when we are supposed to be seeing people testify of receiving ILs for December as others in sane countries are doing, we are looking at ourselves, and wondering what went wrong.

I will advise that you don't put your eggs in one basket. Consider other options - UK Global talent, Australia 189 and NIV, China (K visa). You cannot be stagnant as DJT is on call for the next 3.5 years.

I think we are missing the implications of the recent pronouncements from DJT and its implementation by DHS/USCIS.

One thing that is not clear here is the remit. There is no clarity on what specifically are the diseases of concern (a few are mentioned and then the statement leaves room for others). By leaving it wide, it creates room for subjectivity and varying interpretation. When people apply for certain visas especially immigrant based visas, some level of certainty is needed because of the huge cost and time commitment involved. I can't have my i140 and then during consular interview which should be a straightforward and rubber stamp process I am being told my application is denied because some consular staff thinks I am obese and will be a health drain to the US - that right there is an abuse of the system.

Why I am worried is that supporters of this policy especially the MAGA folks fail to grasp the tendency for policies like this to hunt them in the near future.

Case 1 (UK): Prior to Brexit, Europeans were some of the most unconcerned folks I interacted with in the UK. They could come in and leave as they pleased. While non-Europeans paid enormous fees for visas, Europeans paid nothing. They had same rights as Britons. Fast forward to 2020 and Europeans now needed to apply for visas like non-Europeans. When they realised how costly visas cost, they started protesting and encouraging non-Europeans to join them in protesting the fees. I am pleased to say the nonchalant attitude from non-Europeans to them forced them to retreat peacefully back to Europe. Today, you will hardly find Europeans applying for skilled worker visa. What didn't matter to them became a serious matter arising but alas it was too late to change anything.

Case 2 (UK): When in April 2024 the UK increased the salary threshold that immigrants in the UK (skilled workers) needed to earn to bring in their spouses, many Britons initially championed the idea. Yes, these immigrants MUST earn high to live here. Well, one thing they did not imagine was that it also applied to them. So imagine John, who earns £22k yearly as an apprentice and who had gone on a safari to Kenya and fell in love with Muthoni whose salary is £6k (back in Kenya). John is so smashed and goes on to marry Muthoni. He is British, so after the wedding, Muthoni will be joining him. The process John thinks will be simple. Just inform the Home Office and they will give Muthoni the visa so she can come over quickly. Well, he returns back to Slough, and 6 months after he has written 30 letters to his MP and ranted on all the right leaning channels he can access. He has since realised that their combined income of £28k is miserable and not up to the threshold to enable him bring Muthoni to the UK. He wonders why his love for Muthoni must have a cash backup. Love should not be disturbed by salary scale. Well, he now has to wait till the following year when hopefully inflation will kick his salary up by maybe 1-2%. Let's hope he and Muthoni still have their jobs by then.

Case 3 (US): DJT winning the US election was heavily influenced by latino voters. What they heard was - "I will root out the criminal illegal immigrants from the US and deport them back". What is happening today is the deportation of any migrant who is illegal or has a record. Even those going through the legal system to stay in the system are being haunted from the court houses. They failed to realise that DJT was not coming back for re-election. As a politician he can extrapolate his statements. If they had extrapolated DJT's statement, perhaps we may have had something else.

As I wander the world, I am impressed by the lack of critical thinking that folks exhibit. People get easily swayed by politicians and fail to grasp the subtle meanings and possible extrapolations behind their statements.

As we argue today on DJT's latest statement on health issues and its impact on immigration, we must be alarmed that this is another incursion into our liberties guaranteed everyone in the US by the constitution of the USA. Is there now a health price on love or family reunion? Are families to stay apart because of ill health? In fact, having a US citizen or GC holder as spouse is the more reason why being together in the US is ideal because of access to great healthcare.

How does this impact on American citizens and Green Card holders who are trying to bring n their spouses or children or dependants?

How does this impact employment based visa applicants - EB1/EB2/EB3...?

How does this impact on students, researchers, etc.?

B1/B2 visa is immaterial - it has practically become lottery.