Visas

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The United States Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos are processing a limited number of non-immigrant and immigrant visas.  In order to protect the health and safety of our personnel and the public, we follow strict social distancing practices in our facilities.  All applicants must wear face masks in our applicant service centers and in our waiting room.  Any applicant with symptoms such as a cough, sore throat, or fever must reschedule their interview.  Applicants may email support-nigeria@ustraveldocs.com to reschedule their visa interview and if they have general questions about visa processing.

For Immigrant Visa Applicants: The Immigrant Visa Unit is interviewing immigrant visa applicants in all visa categories.  While the appointment availability remains restricted by public health conditions, the Immigrant Visa Unit is currently scheduling visa appointments while prioritizing the following:

  • Adoptions: appointments for adopted children of U.S. Citizens.
  • Spouses and children of U.S. citizens.
  • Applicants petitioned by U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPR), to include fiancées of U.S. citizens, whose immigrant visa interviews were scheduled between March 22, 2020 and June 30, 2020, and subsequently canceled due to the closure of routine visa services on March 22, 2020.  All affected applicants should have been contacted with a new interview date.
  • LPRs applying for boarding foils and SB-1s.
  • Reissuance of immigrant visas that expired between March 2020 – August 2020.
  • We are contacting all applicants who were affected by the various Presidential Proclamations to conclude the processing of their immigrant visa cases.  

Applicants covered under one of the categories mentioned above are responsible for monitoring the email addresses they have provided to NVC and/or the Immigrant Visa Unit for updates and scheduling purposes.  Applicants who fail to attend their scheduled interview should expect extended delays before an interview can be rescheduled.  

NOTE: Immigrant visa applicants seeking an emergency appointment can submit a request as follows:   

  • If your immigrant visa petition is currently at the National Visa Center (NVC), you must submit your request, together with supporting documentation, directly to NVC for consideration.  NVC can be contacted at: https://nvc.state.gov/ask.
  • If you have received notification from the National Visa Center that your petition has been transferred to the Immigrant Visa Unit, or you have previously been interviewed at the Consulate General and were refused as a result of a Presidential Proclamation, please contact the call center at support-nigeria@ustraveldocs.com or +23412278955 summarizing the nature of your emergency.

For Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants:  The Embassy and Consulate General continue to prioritize travelers with urgent travel needs, although regular visa appointments are made available as the local conditions allow.  In response to ongoing pandemic-related service disruptions, the Department of State announced the extension of Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee validity until September 30, 2022 for individuals who paid an MRV fee, but were unable to schedule and/or attend an interview during the suspension of services.  If you have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately, please follow the guidance provided at https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng or +234-1-227-8955 to request an emergency appointment.  Please visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/covid-19-information.html  for information about the current status of visa services worldwide and visa restrictions related to the COVID-19 global pandemic: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/covid-19-information.html.

Nonimmigrant Visas

Travel to the United States on a temporary basis, including tourism, temporary employment, study and exchange.

Immigrant Visas

For foreign citizens who want to live permanently in the U.S.

A citizen of a foreign country who seeks to enter the United States generally must first obtain a U.S. visa, which is placed in the traveler’s passport, a travel document issued by the traveler’s country of citizenship.

Certain international travelers may be eligible to travel to the United States without a visa if they meet the requirements for visa-free travel. The Visa section of this website is all about U.S. visas for foreign citizens to travel to the United States.

(Note: U.S. citizens don’t need a U.S. visa for travel, but when planning travel abroad may need a visa issued by the embassy of the country they wish to visit.).

To contact a customer service representative, please visit the GSS Contact Us page for full information or use contact information below:

Specific Inquiries on visa cases in progress should contact:

Abuja
Business Hours:
Monday through Thursday from 07:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and
Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Consular Section Abuja is closed to the public the second and the last Friday of every month.

Plot 1075, Diplomatic Drive
Central Business District, Abuja
Tel: +234 1 227 8955
E-Mail: ConsularAbuja@state.gov

Lagos
Business Hours:
Monday – Thursday 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
U.S. Consulate General Lagos Office
2 Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos
Tel.: +234 1 227 8955

For security reasons, we cannot open or read any e-mails with attachments.

The Department of State manages the visa process strictly but fairly in order to best protect the United States.  We are committed to the essential openness for which the United States has always been known.  Travel to the United States is welcomed and encouraged.

We promise to you, the visa applicant, that:

  • We will treat you with dignity and respect, even if we are unable to grant you a visa.
  • We will treat you as an individual and your case as unique.
  • We will remember that, to you, a visa interview may be a new or intimidating experience and that you may be nervous.
  • We will use the limited time available for the interview to get as full a picture as possible of your travel plans and intentions.
  • We will use our available resources to fairly assist all applicants to get appointments to allow travel in time for business, study, and other important obligations.
  • We will post detailed and accurate information on visa requirements and application procedures on every Embassy and Consulate website.
  • We will provide information on non-immigrant appointment waiting times at every Embassy and Consulate posted on http://travel.state.gov.
  • We will explain the reason for any visa denial to you.

Furthermore, if you are a:

  • Student, we will make every effort to ensure that you get an appointment and, if qualified, a visa in time to start classes.
  • Medical and humanitarian emergency traveler, we will expedite processing for those dealing with life threatening emergencies.
  • Business traveler, we will establish appropriate mechanisms to facilitate business travel and expedite cases of particular concern to American business.

At the same time, we expect you, the visa applicant, to:

  • Plan your travel and visa application as far in advance as possible.
  • Complete your application fully and accurately.
  • Be forthcoming about your purpose and plans.
  • Prepare for your interview by being able to clearly and concisely describe your intentions.

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