Nigeria Hit as US Suspends Routine Visa Processing at Abuja Embassy

The United States government has announced that it will discontinue routine visa processing at its Embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic missions across Africa from August 1, 2026, as part of a major restructuring of its overseas consular operations.

According to the U.S. State Department, the move is aimed at streamlining visa services by consolidating routine processing into designated regional visa hubs across the continent. The policy affects only routine immigrant and non-immigrant visa applications and does not mean the affected embassies and consulates will be shut down.

The department explained that the affected diplomatic missions will continue to perform their normal diplomatic and consular responsibilities, including providing emergency consular assistance and services to American citizens. It also clarified that visas already issued remain valid and will not be affected by the new arrangement.

For Nigerian applicants, routine visa processing will continue at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, which has been designated as one of the regional visa-processing hubs. Applicants who would ordinarily have used the Abuja embassy for routine visa appointments will now be redirected accordingly.

The restructuring is part of a broader overhaul of U.S. visa operations in Africa, reducing the number of missions handling routine visa applications while centralising services to improve efficiency, standardise adjudication and strengthen security screening.