The United States has changed the way Nigerians will process routine visa applications, with the U.S. Embassy in Abuja no longer serving as a routine visa processing location.
The change took effect on August 1, 2026, following a decision by the U.S. Department of State to move routine visa services in Abuja to designated regional hubs across Africa.
For Nigerian applicants, Lagos has been designated as the regional hub for routine U.S. visa services.
This means Nigerians who would previously have processed their applications through the U.S. Embassy in Abuja will now be directed to the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos for the relevant visa services.
The development is part of a wider restructuring of U.S. visa operations across the continent. The State Department said the move is intended to strengthen national security, promote uniform screening and vetting standards, and improve the efficiency of its visa operations.
The department announced the realignment in July, listing 25 African cities where routine visa processing would be transferred to regional hubs.
Abuja is among the affected locations.
Other cities listed include Antananarivo in Madagascar, Asmara in Eritrea, Bamako in Mali, Banjul in The Gambia, Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo, Bujumbura in Burundi, Conakry in Guinea and Cotonou in Benin.
Durban, Freetown, Gaborone, Harare, Juba, Libreville, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Maputo, Maseru, Mbabane, N’Djamena, Niamey, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou and Windhoek are also affected.
The U.S. State Department said the affected embassies and consulates are not being closed.
Rather, routine visa processing is being moved to selected locations that will operate as regional hubs.
“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 department said.
For Nigeria, the most significant part of the new arrangement is the transfer of routine visa processing from Abuja to Lagos.
Lagos is among 20 locations designated by the United States as regional visa hubs for Africa. Other hubs include Accra, Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lome, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia and Yaoundé.
The change affects Nigerians applying for routine visas after the new arrangement came into effect.
Applicants are expected to select the appropriate designated location, schedule an appointment and pay the required visa fee according to the instructions for that location.
The State Department has also advised applicants who already had appointments at affected posts to check their emails for specific instructions.
This is particularly important for Nigerians who had begun the visa process in Abuja before the change.
The realignment covers both nonimmigrant and immigrant visa services.
For nonimmigrant applicants, the affected services include tourist and business-related visas as well as petition-based visa categories.
Tourist visas are commonly used by people travelling to the United States temporarily for holidays, visits and other tourism-related purposes.
Business visas cover eligible temporary business activities, while petition-based nonimmigrant visas include several categories where a petition is required before the visa can be issued.
The change also extends to several immigrant visa categories.
According to the State Department, these include immediate relative visas, family preference visas and employment-based immigrant visas.
Fiancé and fiancée visas are also included.
Other affected categories include adoption cases, Diversity Visas and follow-to-join cases involving certain asylees and refugees.
The department said applicants should use the appropriate designated immigrant or nonimmigrant visa location depending on the type of application they are pursuing.
The new arrangement does not cancel visas that have already been issued.
The State Department specifically stated that currently valid U.S. visas are not affected by the realignment.
This means a Nigerian who already holds a valid U.S. visa does not lose that visa simply because routine visa processing has been moved out of Abuja.
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