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Wole Soyinka Says U.S. Revokes His Visa, Cites “Additional Information”
Nigeria’s Nobel Prize winning author and playwright Wole Soyinka has revealed that the United States has revoked his non-immigrant visa, which was issued to him last year.
The 91-year-old Nobel laureate disclosed the development on Tuesday, showing reporters a letter from the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos directing him to submit his passport for physical cancellation of the visa.
According to the letter, dated October 23, the revocation followed the discovery of “additional information” that became available after the visa was issued.
“I have no visa. I am banned obviously from the United States,” Soyinka said. “And if you want to see me, you know where to find me,” he added, referring to those planning to invite him to U.S. events.
The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria has yet to respond to requests for comment.
Soyinka, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, has had several teaching stints at U.S. Ivy League universities since the mid-1990s. In 2016, he famously tore up his U.S. green card and renounced his American residency in protest at the election of former President Donald Trump.
The revocation comes amid recent tightening of U.S. visa policies for Nigerians. In July, the U.S. Embassy announced that non-immigrant visa applicants would henceforth receive single-entry, three-month permits, replacing the previous five-year, multiple-entry visas many Nigerians had enjoyed.
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