Beginning today, Nigerians seeking United States visas will have to travel to Lagos for routine processing as the U.S. Embassy in Abuja ends visa services and transfers all applications to the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, which has been designated as the country’s regional visa processing hub.
The United States Department of State had announced that routine visa processing services will no longer be available at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja from Saturday, August 1, 2026, directing Nigerian applicants to process their visas through the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos.
The development means that citizens and residents of Nigeria seeking new U.S. visas will be required to schedule appointments, pay visa fees and complete routine visa processing procedures at the Lagos consulate, which has been designated as the country’s regional visa processing hub.
The announcement was contained in a statement published on the official website of the U.S. Department of State, while the U.S. Mission in Nigeria confirmed the change through an infographic shared on its official X handle on Wednesday.
The policy, according to the statement, is part of the administration of President Donald Trump’s plan to overhaul visa-processing operations across Africa by reducing the number of missions handling routine visa applications from nearly 50 locations to 20 designated regional hubs.
