Despite the partial shutdown of the United States government, the US Embassy in Nigeria has assured that visa and passport services remain unaffected.
The announcement, issued on Wednesday through the embassy’s official X handle, comes amid growing concerns from Nigerians that the shutdown in Washington could disrupt visa processing, student travel, and other consular services.
“Due to the lapse in appropriations, this X account will not be updated regularly until full operations resume, with the exception of urgent safety and security information. At this time, scheduled passport and visa services in the United States and at U.S. Embassies and Consulates overseas will continue during the lapse in appropriations as the situation permits,” the statement read.
The embassy, however, clarified that its social media updates would be limited to urgent safety advisories until government funding is restored.
The shutdown, triggered by a budget standoff between Democrats and Republicans over health care funding, forced several federal departments and agencies in the US to halt operations, sparing only essential services such as the military, postal service, Social Security, and food stamps.
Former President Donald Trump, under whose administration the deadlock emerged, defended the shutdown at the time, saying it was an opportunity to cut programmes tied to Democratic priorities.
The US Embassy further advised Nigerians to monitor official updates via travel.state.gov for information on consular services, including visa appointments and passport processing.
