Ugandan, Rwandan and Tanzanian F-1 Students: OPT, H-1B, Visa Hubs and 2026 Entry Restrictions

Uganda is under a CDC Ebola entry order, Tanzania and Burundi under a partial visa ban, Rwanda under neither. What each rule means for travel, visa hubs, OPT and the H-1B path.

If you are one of the Ugandan students in the USA, or you hold a Rwandan, Tanzanian or Burundian passport, three separate US measures shape your plans: a CDC health order, a travel-ban proclamation and the move of African visa services to regional hubs. As of November 1, 2026: the CDC order (in effect) suspends entry of foreign nationals who were in Uganda, the DRC or South Sudan in the previous 21 days, and the current order ends 2026-11-10 at 4:59 p.m. EDT unless continued. Proclamation 10998 (in effect since 2026-01-01) partially restricts Tanzania and Burundi, barring new B, F, M, J and immigrant visas. Uganda and Rwanda are on neither travel-ban list. Inside the US, studying, OPT and the H-1B path stay open; the risk is leaving and coming back.

Status line (as of 2026-11-01). In effect: the CDC order (check CDC for the outcome after 2026-11-10); Proclamation 10998, unamended through 11-02; 20 African regional visa hubs (since 2026-08-01). Reported, not officially confirmed: Kampala and Kinshasa visa services still paused. Blocked: the D/S rule, so the 60-day F-1 grace period applies; USCIS's hold on applications from nationals of listed countries (enjoined 2026-08-24). Proposed: OPT fees (comments close 2026-11-09; check the Federal Register after that date). Not announced: FY2028 H-1B registration.

Ugandan students in the USA: what is true right now

Ugandan students in the USA can keep studying, apply for OPT and be sponsored for an H-1B as usual; the risk is international travel. A CDC order, in effect through 2026-11-10 unless continued, blocks entry for foreign nationals who were in Uganda in the prior 21 days, and Kampala's visa services are reported to be paused.

Rwandans, Tanzanians and Burundians face different rules, so start with the row for your passport and your route.

Status by country, as of 2026-11. Re-check the official pages before any trip.

The country lists come from the State Department's Proclamation 10998 announcement, as summarized by Washington University's international office (read 2026-11-02). Kenya and Ethiopia are on neither list; see our guides for Kenyan F-1 students in tech and Ethiopian students on OPT and H-1B.

Can Ugandan students travel to the US during the Ebola entry suspension?

Not if you were in Uganda during the previous 21 days, unless an exception applies. The order turns on where you have been, not on your passport, and it reaches green-card holders too. The current order ends 2026-11-10 at 4:59 p.m. EDT unless continued.

The CDC order page links each version. The October 11, 2026 order, issued under sections 362 and 365 of the Public Health Service Act, states its scope plainly:

"This Order applies to covered aliens who have departed from, or were otherwise present within, DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan during the last 21 days (regardless of their country of origin)."

• Who is outside it. US citizens and nationals; US armed forces and government personnel overseas, with their families; people a customs officer excepts with supervisor approval; and people CDC provisionally excepts. There is no student exception.
• Green-card holders are inside it. The order expressly includes "lawful permanent residents of the United States."
• Non-Ugandans can be caught. A Rwandan, Tanzanian or Burundian whose route home crosses Uganda overland is within the wording. On our reading, "departed from, or were otherwise present within" can also reach someone who only changed planes at Entebbe, so ask an attorney before routing through Uganda.
• Ugandans who have stayed in the US are not. The order looks at travel history, not nationality.
• Arrival airports. Since 2026-05-21, DHS has routed flights carrying covered travelers to designated US airports.

How long has this been running?

CDC issued the order on 2026-05-18, amended it on 05-22 and continued it on 06-21, 07-13, 08-12, 09-11 and 10-11; the October order runs for 30 days. The October order records that Uganda completed its 42-day enhanced monitoring period on 2026-08-27, yet kept Uganda covered, citing continued overland travel from the DRC. Treat 2026-11-10 as a review date, not an expiry.

Common misconception: "Uganda is on the travel ban." Correction: Uganda is on neither Proclamation 10998 list (checked 2026-11-01). Ugandans face a CDC health order that turns on travel history and runs 30 days at a time unless continued, with different exceptions from the proclamation's.

Separately, State paused visa operations at Kampala, Kinshasa and Juba from 2026-05-18, and Kampala and Kinshasa are reported to remain paused; we could not confirm a resumption. Our guide to the visa service pauses in Juba, Kinshasa and Kampala covers the DSO steps. Because State has required applicants to apply in their country of nationality or residence since 2025-09-06, confirm with the embassy and travel.state.gov where Ugandan applicants should apply while Kampala is paused before booking anywhere else.

Is Tanzania on the US travel ban list?

Yes. Tanzania and Burundi are on the partial list of Proclamation 10998, in effect since 2026-01-01 and unchanged through 2026-11-02, so their nationals cannot get new B, F, M, J or immigrant visas. The proclamation fully restricts 19 countries, South Sudan among them, and partially restricts 20.

• Already in the US. Visas issued before 2026-01-01 were not revoked, the restrictions do not affect people lawfully in the US who maintain status, and your F-1 status rests on your I-20, I-94 and SEVIS record, not the stamp.
• Leaving is the hard part. The proclamation suspends issuing a new F-1 visa to replace an expired one. State says holders of visas valid on the effective date are not subject to it, but WashU adds that "it is unclear how U.S. Customs and Border Protection may or may not enforce this exception."
• H-1B is not among the barred classes. A Tanzanian's H-1B application is not suspended by the proclamation's terms, but it is still an in-person interview with online-presence review, decided by a consular officer.
• Green cards. Consular immigrant visas are suspended; adjustment inside the US is a separate question, covered in our post on employment green cards from travel-ban countries.
• Review. By our arithmetic a 180-day review falls around mid-December 2026; nothing has been announced.

Our guide to the 39-country entry suspension explains full and partial listing for students from other countries.

Where do Rwandans and Ugandans apply for US visas now?

In their country of nationality or residence, the rule since 2025-09-06. Kigali, Kampala and Dar es Salaam are three of the 20 hubs that took over routine visa work from 25 African posts on 2026-08-01, according to Brown University's summary of the change.

• Rwandans apply at Kigali. Neither the proclamation nor the CDC order turns on Rwandan nationality, but a hub may now serve other countries' applicants too, so check live waits.
• Ugandans have a hub on paper in Kampala, with services reported paused.
• Tanzanians apply at Dar es Salaam; new F-1 visas are suspended for them, while H-1B and other non-barred classes can still be applied for there.
• Burundians lost routine services at Bujumbura. The summary we read does not name its assigned hub, so check the State Department's realignment announcement and the embassy site.

Under State's interview waiver update, F, M, J, H-1B, H-4 and L applicants interview in person, renewals included, and online-presence review covers F, M, J, H-1B and H-4 applicants. Use the Global Visa Wait Times tool, updated monthly, rather than a friend's appointment date.

Can East African students already in the US get OPT and an H-1B?

Yes. The CDC order and Proclamation 10998 restrict entry and visa issuance; neither, by its terms, addresses OPT or an H-1B petition filed with USCIS inside the US.

One USCIS policy did reach nationals of listed countries. Memo PM-602-0194 (2026-01-01) held all pending benefit applications from people born in or citizens of a Proclamation 10998 country, Tanzania and Burundi included. It is now blocked: the memo is marked "no longer in effect due to court orders," and USCIS's alert (updated 2026-08-28) says a court enjoined it on 2026-08-24 in Red Eagle Law v. Edlow, which USCIS will follow pending possible further review. Tanzanian and Burundian nationals should have an immigration attorney confirm that status.

OPT and STEM OPT rules for East African F-1 students, as of 2026-11.

The fee proposal would reach only DSO recommendations dated 60 or more days after a final rule. Our explainer on how STEM OPT unemployment days are counted goes deeper on the clock.

The H-1B path from OPT

• Registration. FY2028 registration is not announced; USCIS must give 30 days' notice. FY2027 ran March 4-19 with a $215 fee, per the USCIS registration page.
• Weighted lottery. Wage-weighted selection, four entries at Level IV down to one at Level I, has been in effect since 2026-02-27.
• Cap-gap. A timely cap-subject change-of-status petition extends F-1 status and OPT work to April 1 of the fiscal year requested, or the start date if earlier; cap-exempt petitions get none, per USCIS's cap-gap page.
• Change of status vs consular notification. An approved change of status starts H-1B without leaving the US. With Kampala reported paused and F visas suspended for Tanzanians and Burundians, ask your employer's attorney early which route the petition will request.
• The $100,000 payment. Proclamation 11069 is in effect on paper to 2027-09-21, but the payment is blocked by court orders. USCIS says change-of-status and extension requests granted inside the US were never covered; a consular-notification petition or a denied change of status would be, if collection ever resumed.
• Worker grace period. H-1B workers keep today's discretionary 60 days; DHS has proposed ending it (comments close 2026-11-10).

Should you travel while OPT is pending?

Cornell, Johns Hopkins and USC advise against international travel until the EAD arrives, because a missed biometrics appointment abroad can delay or deny the case (Cornell guidance). Add the CDC order or a partial listing and a trip home can leave you with no route back. Ask your DSO first.

Worked example: a Tanzanian STEM master's student finishing on 2026-12-18

Consider a Tanzanian data science master's student whose program ends Friday, 2026-12-18, and whose F-1 stamp expired in 2025.

Key dates for this example, as of 2026-11.

Winter break is where the rules collide: if she flew home, the proclamation would stop a new F-1 visa, and her OPT case would be pending. Her DSO decides travel signatures and recommendation timing; an attorney should review any trip while an H-1B change of status is pending.

Before you book a flight home: a checklist

1. Check your nationality on the State Department's Proclamation 10998 page and your school's international office summary.
2. Read the CDC order page for the current end date and any continuation, and list every country on your route for the 21 days before your US-bound flight.
3. Compare your visa stamp's expiry with your return date, and check whether Kampala, Kigali, Dar es Salaam or Bujumbura's assigned hub is issuing your visa class to your nationality.
4. Look up the current wait on the Global Visa Wait Times tool, not on a forum.
5. Ask your DSO for an I-20 travel signature (valid 12 months while enrolled, 6 months on OPT or STEM OPT, per BU's international office), and tell them about any pending I-765 or H-1B petition.
6. Book a consultation with a licensed immigration attorney if you are a Tanzanian or Burundian national, were recently in Uganda, or have a pending H-1B change of status.
7. Pack your passport, visa, I-94, I-20, EAD and any I-797 in your carry-on; BU's international office advises carrying them even on domestic flights.

How do East African graduates find H-1B sponsors?

The same way any F-1 graduate does: from public filing data, then by targeting roles the weighted lottery favors. Nationality is not an H-1B eligibility criterion, but it can change visa and travel timing, so raise it with the employer's attorney once an offer is real.

• Build the list from filings. The USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub now says it covers fiscal year 2009 through fiscal year 2026, quarter 4, and DOL's OFLC disclosure files run through FY2026 Q3. Our guide to building a target list from LCA and Data Hub records shows the method.
• Aim at wage level. A Level IV role carries four lottery entries and a Level I role one.
• Confirm E-Verify early. A STEM OPT employer must be enrolled and sign your Form I-983.
• Look at cap-exempt employers. Universities, affiliated nonprofits and nonprofit research organizations sponsor without the lottery, though with no cap-gap. Florida has paused new H-1B hires at 12 public universities until at least 2027-01-05, and Texas has frozen new petitions at state agencies and public universities through 2027-05-31 unless its workforce commission permits.
• Ask the sponsorship question directly. One vendor's read of 2,718 engineering postings (Match.dev, 2026-10-13) reported 88.1% silent on sponsorship, so silence is not a no.

Common mistakes

• Treating the CDC order as a nationality ban. It follows travel history; a Rwandan connecting through Entebbe can be covered.
• Assuming a pre-2026 visa guarantees re-entry for Tanzanians or Burundians. It was not revoked, but border treatment is unclear.
• Booking a third-country appointment by default. Since 2025-09-06 you apply where you are a national or resident; check State's guidance for your country first.
• Assuming USCIS still holds every Tanzanian or Burundian application. USCIS's alert (updated 2026-08-28) says the PM-602-0194 hold was enjoined on 2026-08-24; confirm the current status with an attorney rather than a forum.
• Repeating "OPT now costs $70,000." It is a proposal, and the school would be the legal payer.
• Believing the STEM OPT 180-day extension ended. USCIS's page (updated 2026-01-30) still provides it for timely filers.

Frequently asked questions

Can Ugandan students travel to the US during the Ebola entry suspension?

Not if you were in Uganda during the previous 21 days, unless an exception applies. As of 2026-11-01 a CDC order suspends entry of foreign nationals, green-card holders included, who were in Uganda, the DRC or South Sudan in that window; the current order ends 2026-11-10 at 4:59 p.m. EDT unless continued. Talk to your DSO and an immigration attorney before any trip home.

Is Tanzania on the US travel ban list?

Yes, on the partial list. Proclamation 10998, in effect since 2026-01-01 and unchanged through 2026-11-02, bars Tanzanian and Burundian nationals from new B, F, M, J and immigrant visas. Visas issued earlier were not revoked, and students already in the US are not affected while they maintain status, so leaving the country is the risky step.

Where do Rwandans and Ugandans apply for US visas now?

In their country of nationality or residence, as State has required since 2025-09-06. Kigali and Kampala are among the 20 African regional visa hubs in place since 2026-08-01, but Kampala's visa services are reported to be paused, so Ugandans should check the embassy site first. F-1 and H-1B interviews are in person, renewals included.

Can East African students already in the US get OPT and an H-1B?

Yes. The CDC order and Proclamation 10998 restrict entry and visas, and neither by its terms covers OPT or an H-1B petition filed with USCIS inside the US. A separate USCIS hold on applications from nationals of listed countries, Tanzania and Burundi included, has been blocked by court orders since 2026-08-24. Post-completion OPT can be filed from 90 days before to 60 days after your program end date, and an approved H-1B change of status starts without travel.

How do East African graduates find H-1B sponsors?

Build a target list from the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, which now covers fiscal years 2009 through 2026, and from DOL's LCA disclosure files. Then favor higher-wage-level roles under the weighted lottery in effect since 2026-02-27, E-Verify employers for STEM OPT, and cap-exempt universities and nonprofit research organizations.

Sources

• CDC, Ebola entry suspension orders; October 11, 2026 order (PDF)
• State Department, Proclamation 10998; WashU OISS country lists; State Department, temporary pause of visa operations
• USCIS: PM-602-0194; court order on hold policies
• Brown ISSS, Africa regional hubs; State Department realignment announcement
• State Department, interview waiver update; Global Visa Wait Times
• USCIS: OPT, STEM OPT, cap-gap, H-1B registration, Employer Data Hub
• SEVP unemployment counter; Federal Register, OPT fees NPRM; DOL OFLC data

How we checked this: we read the CDC's October 11, 2026 order, USCIS memo PM-602-0194 and its court-order alert, the State Department, USCIS, SEVP and DOL pages above, and the WashU and Brown summaries on 2026-11-01 and 2026-11-02.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your own I-20, I-94 and notices govern, and your DSO (for F-1, OPT and SEVIS) or a licensed immigration attorney (for visas, petitions and travel) should decide anything consequential.

If you are on OPT or finishing a degree and want a focused search for employers that sponsor H-1B, F1Jobs works with international candidates from East Africa and beyond.