Item 1 of 2 Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka responds to questions about the revocation of his U.S. visa, in Lagos, Nigeria, October 28, 2025. REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun

[1/2] Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka responds to questions about the revocation of his U.S. visa, in Lagos, Nigeria, October 28, 2025. REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

LAGOS, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka said on Tuesday the United States had revoked his non-immigrant visa issued last year and he was told to re-apply if he wished to try again to visit the U.S.

The 91-year-old writer said in 2016 that he had torn up his U.S. green card and renounced his American residency in protest at the first election of President Donald Trump.

The Nobel laureate has had regular teaching stints at America’s Ivy League universities since the mid-1990s following his Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986.

On Tuesday, Soyinka showed reporters a copy of a letter from the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos asking him to bring his passport for physical cancellation of the visa.

The letter, dated October 23, said “additional information became available” after the visa was issued.

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“I have no visa, I am banned obviously from the United States and if you want to see me, you know where to find me,” he said, referring to people who planned to invite him to events in the U.S.

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria said in July that Nigerians seeking to travel to the U.S. on non-immigrant visas would now receive single-entry three-month permits, rolling back the up to five-year, multiple-entry visas they had enjoyed previously.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Suggested Topics:

Read Next

ago United States category

ago Legal category

ago Americas category

ago United States category

ago United States category

ago World at Work category

Logitech on Tuesday reported better-than-expected sales and earnings for the second quarter as the computer peripherals maker sold more of its artificial intelligence-enabled products.

Site Index

About Reuters

Stay Informed

Information you can trust

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world’s media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Read More