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The news broke at night. Because of the time difference, our CEO, Bimpe Femi-Oyewo, couldn't sleep.

The US had expanded travel restrictions, blocking Nigerian international students from obtaining US visas and adding more African countries to both partial restrictions and full bans.

In her latest article for The PIE News, Bimpe shares the devastating impact of these policies on the students we serve, and why this moment matters for everyone who believes in educational access.

The Human Cost of Policy

We've spent years doing the hard, often invisible work of helping African students break through systemic barriers to global opportunities. Education opens doors, builds networks, and allows talented young people to fully realize their potential.

So watching policies repeatedly roll back that access, especially for Africans, is exhausting and heartbreaking.

This year alone, this isn't the first policy to disproportionately affect Africans. That cumulative weight matters. We fight every day to create access, yet it feels like the world keeps finding new ways to close doors.

Students Who Did Everything Right

We just concluded an intense MBA round one cycle. Many of our clients, Nigerians on the continent and in the diaspora, secured offers from some of the top 1% of schools in the world. Harvard. Columbia. Duke. With scholarships. These students did everything right. They prepared for years, sat for the GRE or GMAT, built strong profiles, and earned these offers on merit.

And now they're asking us: what does this mean for me?

If you hold only a Nigerian passport, you currently don't even have the option to try for a US student visa. Previously, the challenge was navigating long wait times and backlogs. Now, there is no pathway at all. No interview. No appointment. No chance.

That level of uncertainty is incredibly destabilizing for students and for the institutions that admitted them.

The Conversations We're Having

As advisors, we're having difficult, emotional calls every day. Students are confused, hurt, and scared. We're currently supporting two exceptional young men from South Sudan, refugees with extraordinary potential who we genuinely believe could access fully funded education in the US. Now, with South Sudan included on the full ban list, we don't even know how to begin navigating that conversation with them.

While we understand the policy language, the real question is how this will play out in practice, especially when universities themselves are operating under fear and pressure. We've already seen international admissions tightening due to broader political forces, the rollback of DEI scholarships, and increased scrutiny of universities. This latest move compounds an already fragile system.

Our Priority: Care and Clarity

Right now, we're advising students not to panic, but to be strategic. That includes recommending they pause on paying US school deposits, accommodation fees, or making irreversible financial commitments until there's more clarity.

We're also encouraging students to consider alternative pathways, particularly in Europe and Canada, even when their hearts are set on the US. That's not an easy conversation, but it's a necessary one.

This moment has forced us to rethink timelines, rework application strategies, and extend our support far beyond what we anticipated. It's stressful. It's emotionally draining. And it's deeply unfair to students who have already proven they belong.

Why This Work Matters

Education is one of the most powerful tools for access. When systemic barriers repeatedly close doors on talented students who've earned their place, we don't just lose individual stories, we lose the innovation, leadership, and perspectives that could shape our collective future.

This is why we do this work. And why we'll keep fighting to create pathways, even when the world keeps finding new ways to close them.

Read Bimpe's full article in The PIE News: https://bit.ly/48LsyHe