Miss Universe Zimbabwe Roseanna Hall and several other contestants from Africa could miss this year’s competition in Puerto Rico as they race to secure a US visa.
Hall is due to represent Zimbabwe at the 75th edition of the Miss Universe pageant, with the winner set to 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 only African contestant to be affected by the restrictions. Zambia has withdrawn its representative, Pamela Mubanga, from the competition because of US travel restrictions.
Contestants began arriving in Puerto Rico on 8 November for registration, fittings and other pre-pageant activities, putting pressure on Hall, and others including the representative from South Sudan, to secure their visas. “Officially, today is the day I was supposed to be leaving for Puerto Rico for the 75th edition of Miss Universe,” Hall said.
Zimbabwe is among 19 countries subject to partial US travel restrictions introduced under the 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. They also impose restrictions on other categories of non-immigrant visas.
In a statement, the Miss Universe organization in Zambia said Mubanga’s situation was a consequence of the travel 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, although it did not name them.
Hall said she shared their concerns, adding that 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.
Miss Universe South Sudan also expressed uncertainty about her 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.
By BBC News
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