Starting October 5, 2014, U.S. Embassy Nouakchott will change its operating hours to be in line with the new working hours recently instituted by the Mauritanian Government. Our new workweek will be Monday to Friday. The Consular Section will be open to the public Monday to Thursday from 8:00 to 17:00, and Friday from 8:00 to 11:00. Any U.S. citizen with an emergency requiring immediate attention after 11:00 am on Friday should call the Embassy Duty Officer at (+222) 3-662-8163.
In the interim, American Citizen Services appointments will be moved to Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Please check the following link for updated information on appointments for routine services: https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.asp?postcode=NUK&appcode=1.
The Consular Section and U.S. Embassy Nouakchott will be closed on Friday October 3, 2014 as we transition to the new work week. In addition, the Embassy may be closed on Monday October 6, 2014 pending confirmation of the dates for Eid El Adha (Tabaski) by the lunar commission. The U.S. Embassy advises U.S. Citizens to check local media for an announcement from the Mauritanian government.
We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Mauritania enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at https://step.state.gov/step. STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency. If you don’t have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
Regularly monitor the State Department’s website at http://travel.state.gov, where you can find current Travel Warnings, (including the Travel Warning for Mauritania), Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution. Read the Country Specific Information for Mauritania at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_4965.html.
For additional information, refer to “A Safe Trip Abroad” on the State Department’s website.
Contact the U.S. embassy or consulate for up-to-date information on travel restrictions. You can also call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free from within the United States and Canada, or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Follow us on Twitter at https://mobile.twitter.com/travelgov and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/travelgov, and download our free Smart Traveler iPhone App at
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smart-traveler/id442693988?mt=8 to have travel information at your
fingertips.
The U.S. Embassy in Nouakchott is located between the Presidency building and the Spanish Embassy on Rue Abdallaye and is open Monday-Thursday from 8:00-5:00 and Friday from 8:00-12:00. The phone number is 45 25 26 60. If you are a U.S. citizen in need of urgent assistance, the emergency number for the U.S. Embassy is 36 62 81 63. In the event of an emergency that interrupts mobile phone (SMS) or Internet communication in Mauritania, U.S. citizens may call the Embassy’s dedicated Consular emergency recording at 45 25 37 07 to receive the most up-to-date instructions.