US travellers will now submit Nigeria visa applications at embassy as NIS scraps third-party service

Nigerians in the U.S. seeking visas to travel to Nigeria must now apply directly at Nigerian diplomatic missions. The Nigeria Immigration Service has immediately terminated its contract with OIS Services, the company that previously handled visa application submissions across the country.

The NIS announced the disengagement in a statement signed by Service Public Relations Officer DCI Akinsola Akinlabi on Thursday, July 9, 2026, saying the decision takes effect immediately.

OIS Services had been operating Nigeria’s Visa Application and Submission Centres in the United States, serving as the intermediary through which applicants submitted documents and fees before the Nigerian mission processed and issued the actual visa. With that arrangement now ended, applicants must go directly to the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, D.C. or the Consulates in New York and Atlanta.

The NIS did not state the reason for the disengagement in its public notice, describing only the operational change and what applicants should do next. No timeline was given for when a new service provider might be appointed or when the arrangement might revert to a third-party submission model.

What Nigerians in the US should know about visa application

For the over 400,000 Nigerians in the U.S. and foreign nationals who need a visa to enter Nigeria, this change adds a new layer of inconvenience. The visa application centre was specifically designed to ease the burden of travelling to an embassy or consulate, especially for those far from Washington D.C., New York, or Atlanta

With OIS out of the picture, anyone in states far from those three cities now faces a longer journey to submit their documents in person. The NIS said the Embassy and Consulates have “put adequate measures in place to ensure seamless submission, processing, and issuance of visas”, though what those measures involve in practice was not specified.

The NIS advised all applicants to monitor its official communication channels and those of the Nigerian Mission in the United States for further updates on application procedures.

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The abrupt termination of a visa services contract is not unique to Nigeria. Several African countries have gone through similar transitions when relationships with visa outsourcing companies break down over disputes, contract renewals, or service quality concerns.

What matters for applicants in the short term is knowing that the old submission route through OIS is no longer valid and that showing up at an OIS centre will not result in a processed application.

Anyone currently mid-application through OIS should contact the Nigerian Embassy or Consulate directly for guidance on how to complete their process.