US: VISA PROCESSING SHIFT WON’T AFFECT ABUJA EMBASSY OPERATIONS
Read Time:2 Minute, 52 Second
By:Tajudeen Aminat
The United States Mission in Nigeria has clarified that the ongoing realignment of routine visa processing in Africa will not affect the operational status of the US Embassy in Abuja.
The clarification followed an announcement by the US Department of State that routine visa services in Abuja would be transferred to a regional visa hub effective August 1, 2026.
In a statement posted on its official X account on Monday, the US Mission Nigeria said the change only affected routine visa processing and did not mean the closure of the Abuja embassy.
“The realignment of routine visa processing does not change the operating status of any of the embassies and consulates or the important work they continue to conduct on behalf of the American people,” the mission said.
The State Department had announced on July 15 that it was restructuring visa operations across Africa by transferring routine processing to designated regional hubs.
The department said the move was aimed at strengthening national security, improving efficiency and ensuring more consistent standards for visa screening, vetting and adjudication.
It explained that the adjustment was part of an established practice that had previously been implemented in several countries across Africa and Europe.
“Effective August 1, 2026, the Department of State will realign routine visa services in Antananarivo, Abuja, Asmara, Bamako, Banjul, Brazzaville, Bujumbura, Conakry, Cotonou, Durban, Freetown, Gaborone, Harare, Juba, Libreville, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Maputo, Maseru, Mbabane, N’Djamena, Niamey, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, and Windhoek to a regional visa hub,” the department stated.
Under the new arrangement, applicants from affected countries seeking US visas are required to schedule appointments and pay applicable visa fees at designated regional locations.
For Nigeria, Lagos has been designated as the regional hub for routine US visa services.
Other regional hubs listed by the State Department include Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lomé, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia and Yaoundé.
The department said the realignment applies to routine nonimmigrant and immigrant visa services.
“These include tourist and business-related nonimmigrant visas, as well as petition-based nonimmigrant visas,” it said.
Affected immigrant visa categories include immediate relative, family preference and employment-based visas, as well as fiancé(e) visas, adoption cases, Diversity Visas and follow-to-join asylee and refugee cases.
However, the department stressed that the changes would not invalidate existing visas.
“This does not affect any currently valid visas,” it said.
Applicants who already have appointments at posts where routine visa services have been discontinued were advised to check their emails for specific instructions.
The State Department also provided guidance for applicants who had already paid the Machine Readable Visa fee at affected locations, directing them to schedule appointments at designated regional posts.
It further clarified that visa fees would not be refunded to applicants who failed to schedule their appointments within the stipulated period.
For immigrant visa applicants, the US said mandatory medical examinations could be conducted in their home countries where approved panel physicians were available or at designated regional visa hubs.
The department also noted that existing visa suspensions under Presidential Proclamation 10998, visa bond requirements and immigrant visa pauses affecting certain nationalities remained in effect.
The clarification by the US Mission Nigeria means that although routine visa processing has shifted from Abuja to Lagos, the US Embassy in Abuja remains operational and will continue to perform its other diplomatic and consular functions.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0