ABUJA / LAGOS — The United States Mission in Nigeria has issued a formal operational update confirming that routine visa services at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja have ended, designating the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos as the single regional hub for nonimmigrant and immigrant visa adjudications in Nigeria.
The operational consolidation—which took effect on August 1, 2026, and was re-emphasized in a public advisory on September 8, 2026—is part of a global Department of State realignment that ceased routine visa processing across 25 diplomatic missions in Africa to streamline security vetting and reduce operational expenditure.
The U.S. Mission clarified that while routine visa processing has moved exclusively to Lagos, the U.S. Embassy in Abuja remains fully operational for diplomatic functions, emergency services, and general American Citizen Services (ACS).
Key Operational Guidelines & Applicant Directives
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Status of Existing Appointments: The Embassy confirmed that applicants with previously scheduled appointments in Abuja will still be honored, though some interview dates have been rescheduled. Affected applicants have been directed to monitor their registered emails for updated appointment slots.
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MRV Fee Receipt Validity: Applicants who hold valid, unused Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee receipts originally purchased for Abuja processing can utilize those fee payments to schedule appointments at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos without financial penalty.
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Consular Travel Adjustment: All routine B1/B2 tourist, business, student, and exchange visa applicants residing in Northern and Central Nigeria will now be required to travel to the Lagos Consulate for interview appointments and biometric capture.
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Regional Hub Restructuring: The State Department explained that centralizing routine processing in regional hubs like Lagos promotes uniform screening, background check consistency, and standardized adjudication across sub-Saharan Africa.
