THEY'RE BLACK:

While focused only on immigrant visas, the net impact of the newly issued restrictions is far-reaching, from splitting families to hobbling employment opportunities. But there is also the general sentiment that there will likely be increased scrutiny on non-immigrant visa applications by Nigerians--as anecdotal data already suggests.

And this presents a unique problem for Nigeria's fledgling tech ecosystem, industry insiders say.

"More than anything else, it's the kind of thing that sends the wrong signal to investors that are interested in Nigeria," says Seni Sulyman, vice president of global operations at Andela, the developer outsourcing firm which has raised around $180 million in funding mostly from US investors. Visa restrictions and the negative connotations they often imply "creates extra skepticism among people that might be interested but are not already involved," Sulyman says.

The visa restrictions come at a time when Nigeria's tech ecosystem has grown into being the continent's most dominant. Over the past decade, global tech companies including Google and Facebook have looked to deepen their roots in Africa's largest internet market. Nigeria is also increasingly bagging more startup funding--most of which has so far come from US-based venture funds--than any other African country. With the growing number of startup success stories over the past decade, renowned accelerator programs like Silicon Valley's Y Combinator have also become a lot more recipient of applications from Nigeria.

But increased scrutiny on non-immigrant visa applications could inadvertently impact progress on these fronts. "We were just starting to find our stride in terms of foreign venture capital funding and inclusion in all of these opportunities like accelerators and speaking engagements," says Odunayo Eweniyi, co-founder of PiggyBank and speaker at the World Bank fall meetings in Washington D.C. late last year. "I think it will certainly make it harder to take advantage of opportunities in the US. There's a lot of good being done here that needs outside attention and amplification, I'm worried about what this means for that," she tells Quartz.

Those fears are supported by recent data too. Last year, Nigeria recorded the largest global drop-off in visitors to the US.

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