Nigeria's National Immigration Service (NIS) announced on July 9, 2026 that it has suspended, until further notice, the services of Online Integrated Solution (OIS Services) — the company that has been operating Nigeria's Visa Application Centres in the United States. The NIS statement, quoted identically across multiple Nigerian outlets, reads: "Effective from July, 2026, the service of Online Integrated Solution (OIS Services), the operator of Nigeria's Visa Application Centres in the United States of America, has been suspended until further notice." In practice, this means anyone in the US applying for a Nigerian visa that requires an in-person or paper-based process can no longer go through OIS Services, and must instead apply directly at the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, DC, or the Consulates General of Nigeria in New York or Atlanta. Applicants using Nigeria's e-Visa portal for eligible visa categories are not affected — that system continues to operate as before.
Background
Like many countries, Nigeria had outsourced parts of its US visa-processing workload to a third-party operator — OIS Services — which ran dedicated Visa Application Centres where applicants could submit paperwork, provide biometric data such as fingerprints, and get application-status support without needing to visit the embassy or a consulate directly. This kind of arrangement is common practice for countries managing a high volume of visa applications across a large country like the US, since it lets embassies and consulates focus on adjudication rather than intake logistics. The NIS statement does not explain why the arrangement with OIS Services ended, and neither the Nigerian missions in the US nor OIS Services itself has issued a public explanation for the change as of this writing.
What exactly changed
The change is a shift in where and how applications are submitted, not a change to visa eligibility, fees, or categories. Before this announcement, applicants could use an OIS-run Visa Application Centre to submit documents and biometrics. Now, that option is gone, and applicants for the affected visa categories must go directly to one of three Nigerian diplomatic missions in the US: the Embassy in Washington, DC, or the Consulates General in New York or Atlanta. The NIS statement and independent reporting from Daily Post Nigeria both confirm these same three locations. Nigeria's e-Visa system, used for eligible short-stay and other categories that can be processed fully online, is explicitly unaffected — travelers eligible for an e-Visa can continue applying through the official portal without any change.
Before vs. after
- Before: applicants could submit documents and biometrics through an OIS Services-run Visa Application Centre.
- After: applicants must submit directly at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, or the Consulates in New York or Atlanta.
- Unchanged: the e-Visa portal remains available for eligible visa categories, with no disruption reported.
Who it affects
This affects anyone in the United States applying for a Nigerian visa that is not handled through the e-Visa system — for example, someone applying for a visa category that still requires in-person biometric enrollment, a member of the Nigerian diaspora renewing travel documents, or a business traveler or returning resident who was planning to use an OIS-run Visa Application Centre. The Embassy in Washington, DC, and the Consulates General in New York and Atlanta are the only confirmed points of contact for affected applicants going forward.
What this means in practice
Anyone planning to apply for a Nigerian visa from the US should first check whether their visa category is eligible for the e-Visa portal, since that process is unaffected and remains the more direct option. If not, applicants should contact the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, DC, or the relevant Consulate in New York or Atlanta directly to confirm current appointment procedures, since NIS has not published detailed guidance on how in-person intake will now be handled. Anyone with an appointment already scheduled through OIS Services should treat it as cancelled and follow up directly with the mission rather than assuming it will carry over. GoMate's Nigeria country guide at /country-guides/nigeria covers the broader entry and relocation picture for anyone planning a move.
When it happened
The Nigeria Immigration Service announced the suspension on July 9, 2026, stating it takes effect "from July, 2026" and applies "until further notice."
What is not yet confirmed
NIS gave no reason for ending the arrangement with OIS Services, and no timeline for whether or when a replacement process will be introduced. Some secondary reporting suggests OIS Services previously operated in additional US cities beyond Washington, DC, New York, and Atlanta, but this could not be independently confirmed across two directly-opened sources, so this article limits itself to the three confirmed locations.
Key Takeaway
If you're applying for a Nigerian visa from the US outside the e-Visa system, go directly to the embassy in Washington, DC, or the consulate in New York or Atlanta — the third-party processor NIS previously used has been cut out of the process.