 Ihemelu made his debut for the United States on 29 January 2006, against Norway.Unusually, he was then called up by Canada in June 2008 and traveled with the team for their match against St. Vincent and the Grenadines.While the Canadian Soccer Association has Ihemelu's hometown listed as Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ihemelu's eligibility to play for Canada was in doubt, due to his appearing for the United States in the aforementioned Norway game, and to questions over his Canadian citizenship.