By RhemDy News
The United States Department of State has announced that visa applicants in Nigeria will no longer be provided routine services in Abuja from Saturday, August 1, 2026.
In its place, Nigerian citizens and residents of Nigeria who wish to apply for a U.S. visa must now schedule an appointment and pay the required visa fee at U.S. Consulate Lagos which is the new designated location.
US Embassy in Nigeria explained that this measures was part of Washington's move to realign visa operations in Africa to regional hubs.
This, it noted, was part of a long-standing practice that strengthens US national security by promoting more uniform screening, vetting, and adjudication standards, as well as improving efficiency and adjusting to shifting immigration policy priorities and objectives.
"Effective August 1, 2026, several U.S. Embassies and Consulates in Africa will no longer be offering routine visa services, including U.S. Embassy Abuja.
"Citizens and residents of Nigeria who wish to apply for a U.S. visa must schedule an appointment and pay the required visa fee at U.S. Consulate Lagos, the new designated location," the US Embassy in Nigeria announced in a statement on Friday.
Aside from Abuja, the US Government had earlier that it will also realign routine visa services in Antananarivo, 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.
Citizens and residents of these countries wishing to apply for a visa on or after August 1, 2026, have been directed to schedule an appointment and pay the required visa fee at the appropriate designated Nonimmigrant visa or designated immigrant visa locations.
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