African Miss Universe beauty queens in limbo as US visa restrictions bite

Miss Universe Zimbabwe Roseanna Hall and several other contestants from Africa could miss the 75th edition of the Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico as they race to secure a US visa.

Hall is due to represent Zimbabwe at the competition, where the winner will be crowned on 24 November, but she has yet to obtain a visa to travel to the US territory.

"We have been back and forth, trying to get my visa approved," Hall said in a video posted on her Instagram page.

Hall is not the first African contestant to be affected by the restrictions. Zambia has withdrawn its representative, Pamela Mubanga, from the competition because of the US travel restrictions.

Contestants began arriving in Puerto Rico on 8 November for registration, fittings and other pre-pageant activities, raising the pressure on Hall, and others including representatives from South Sudan to secure her visa and join them.

"Officially, today is the day I was supposed to be leaving for Pueto Rico for the 75th edition of Miss Universe," Hall said.

Zimbabwe is among 19 countries subject to partial US travel restrictions introduced under Presidential Proclamation 10998, which took effect on 1 January 2026.

The measures suspend the issuance of visitor, student and exchange visas, as well as immigrant visas, to nationals of the affected countries, while imposing limits on other non-immigrant visas.

In a statement, the official pageant organisation in Zambia said Mubanga's situation stemmed from the restrictions rather than individual circumstances.

"Unlike situations where a contestant's visa is denied due to personal circumstances, documentation or organisational challenges, Mubanga's situation is linked to the United States' presidential travel restriction affecting Zambia and other African countries," the statement read.

Mubanga, 25, a registered nurse, was crowned Miss Universe Zambia on 8 October and was due to represent the country at the international pageant.

The statement said five other African countries faced similar difficulties but did not name them.

Hall echoed those concerns, saying she had spent the past few weeks in South Africa trying to secure her visa.

"I am not alone in this predicament. Some of my African sisters are facing the same predicament, and I know exactly what they are going through," she said.

The Miss Universe South Sudan also expressed uncertainty about its representative's participation, commenting on Hall's video: "It is 50/50 whether we will make it, Miss Universe."

In another video posted three days earlier, Hall said she was still hoping to make it to Puerto Rico.

She captioned the video: "The fight to get Zimbabwe to Puerto Rico continues,"

The pageant's final is scheduled to take place at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan.