The United States has announced a major policy shift requiring Somali nationals applying for immigrant visas to attend their interviews in Nairobi, Kenya, starting November 1, 2025. The directive, issued by the U.S. Department of State, is part of sweeping global changes designed to “standardize and streamline” visa processing for citizens of countries without permanent U.S. embassies or consular services.
According to the new guidelines, immigrant visa applicants must attend interviews at the U.S. consulate responsible for the country where they reside, or in their country of nationality. Because Somalia lacks a fully functional U.S. embassy, Nairobi has been designated as the official hub for Somali applicants.
The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi will now handle immigrant visa interviews for Somali and South Sudanese nationals in addition to Kenyan applicants. Similar reassignments are happening worldwide: Eritreans will be directed to Nairobi or Addis Ababa, Sudanese to Cairo, Syrians to Amman (with limited exceptions in Beirut), Afghans to Islamabad, Iranians to Abu Dhabi, Ankara, or Yerevan, Yemenis to Djibouti, Venezuelans to Bogotá, and Zimbabweans to Johannesburg.
The State Department says the move is intended to eliminate inconsistencies and confusion in the system. Previously, applicants from countries without consular services often sought interviews in third countries of their choice, creating uneven backlogs across different embassies.
“This reform unifies the process globally and provides clarity for applicants,” the Department noted in a statement. “Humanitarian, medical, and diplomatic exceptions will continue to be considered, but applicants must present strong evidence to justify interview locations outside their assigned posts.”
The policy applies broadly to all immigrant visa categories, including family reunification, employment-based visas, and special programs. Critically, it will also affect winners of the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery 2026, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery. Somali winners, like other nationals, will now be obligated to travel to Nairobi for their consular interviews.
The Department stressed that applicants with previously scheduled interviews will not be affected. The National Visa Center (NVC) will handle new appointments under the updated framework. Applicants who wish to change venues after an appointment has been scheduled must file a Public Inquiry Form with the NVC, though approvals are not guaranteed.
The decision underscores Somalia’s long-standing absence of a fully operational U.S. embassy. Washington closed its mission in Mogadishu in 1991 during the outbreak of civil war, reopening only a limited embassy in 2019 with minimal consular capacity. As a result, Somalis have historically relied on regional hubs — primarily Nairobi — for U.S. immigration services.
Nairobi is already a center for international diplomacy in East Africa, hosting UN agencies, humanitarian organizations, and dozens of embassies. The U.S. designation formalizes what, in practice, has long been the default path for Somalis seeking American visas.
While U.S. officials frame the new rule as a step toward efficiency, migration experts warn of added costs and barriers. For many Somalis, traveling to Nairobi involves expensive flights, visa fees, and extended stays. Applicants from conflict-affected regions or those facing financial strain may find the new requirement especially challenging.
“This policy may look like streamlining on paper, but in reality, it adds another layer of difficulty for Somali families already struggling to reunite,” one Nairobi-based migration lawyer told Dalsan Media.
The directive is clear: from November 1 onward, Nairobi will be the mandatory gateway for Somalis seeking to legally migrate to the United States. For thousands of Somali families applying for family reunification or hoping to realize the American dream through the Green Card Lottery, the new policy sets Nairobi as the singular checkpoint.
Whether the measure achieves its stated goal of transparency and uniformity, or whether it exacerbates the hardships of one of the world’s most displaced populations, remains to be seen.