NIS Ends OIS Visa Deal In US, Directs Applicants To Missions
Nigerians and other travellers seeking visas to enter Nigeria from the United States will now have to file their applications directly at the country’s diplomatic missions, following the immediate termination of the arrangement that had placed that responsibility in private hands. The Nigeria Immigration Service announced on Wednesday, July 9, 2026, that it had disengaged Online Integrated Solution, better known as OIS Services, from collecting and forwarding Nigerian visa applications across the United States.
According to a public notice from the Service, prospective travellers and Nigerians resident in the US who require entry visas must now submit their applications at the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, D.C., or at the Nigerian Consulates in New York and Atlanta, pending further directives. The notice was signed by DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, the Service Public Relations Officer.
The Immigration Service moved to reassure applicants that the transition would not disrupt the flow of applications. It stated that the Embassy and its Consulates had “put adequate measures in place to ensure the seamless submission, processing, and issuance of visas” despite the change. Applicants were further advised to monitor the official channels of the Immigration Service and the Nigerian Mission in the United States for updates on procedures. The notice thanked applicants for their “understanding and cooperation during the transition.”
For years, OIS Services operated Nigeria’s visa application centres in the United States, handling the front-end collection and submission of applications on behalf of the missions. The Consulate General of Nigeria in New York had earlier confirmed that the operator discontinued that function, pointing travellers instead toward direct engagement with the missions and the electronic visa platform run by the Immigration Service.
The disengagement fits into a wider overhaul of Nigeria’s visa architecture that has been unfolding since last year. In February 2025, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Interior, discontinued the long-standing Visa on Arrival regime, citing national security considerations. In its place, the authorities rolled out an eVisa system through which eligible travellers apply online and receive approval by email, typically within 24 to 48 hours, before printing the document for presentation on arrival. Officials have consistently framed the reforms as part of an effort to tighten security screening while modernising a process long criticised as slow and opaque.
The latest change also lands at a delicate moment in relations between Abuja and Washington on the movement of people. Nigeria is among the countries affected by United States immigration restrictions introduced in 2026. Under Presidential Proclamation 10998, which took effect on January 1, 2026, the US partially suspended visa issuance to nationals of several countries, Nigeria included, covering B-1/B-2 visitor visas, F, M and J student and exchange categories, and immigrant visas, subject to limited exceptions. Separately, from January 21, 2026, Nigerian applicants found otherwise eligible for B-1/B-2 visas were made subject to a bond requirement of up to fifteen thousand dollars.
The Immigration Service did not attach a specific reason for ending the OIS arrangement in its notice, nor did it indicate whether a replacement operator would be appointed or whether direct submission at the missions would become permanent. For now, applicants have been left to rely on the embassy and consulates, with the Service pledging continuity of service through the changeover.
Nigeria Immigration Service, OIS Services, Nigerian visa, US Nigeria relations, eVisa, visa application, Nigerian Embassy Washington, immigration policy, Nigerians in diaspora, visa reform