Two African contestants will miss the 75th Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico because they could not secure U.S. visas, according to the Associated Press.

Zambia withdrew its representative, Mubanga Pamela Hatyoka, and the Republic of Congo withdrew Georgina Kambongo, who had been due to become her country's first-ever Miss Universe contestant.

Pageant organizers stress that these exits are not about personal failings.

Miss Universe Zambia's organizers said Hatyoka's nonappearance is linked to U.S. presidential travel restrictions affecting Zambia and other African nations, declaring that she earned her crown and deserves the chance to represent her country.

In Congo, national organizers attributed Kambongo's absence solely to the restrictions, per Premium Times Nigeria. A beauty contest meant to showcase 120 countries is instead being reshaped by immigration policy.

Zimbabwe's Roseanna Hall told followers on Instagram that she has been 'back and forth, trying to get my visa approved,' applying from South Africa where she spent recent weeks on the process, the BBC reports. She was expected in Puerto Rico by November 8 for registration, fittings and rehearsals.

Miss Universe South Sudan described contestant Adut Deng's chances as '50/50,' saying months of efforts to secure travel documents have not resolved her status. Hall wrote that 'the fight to get Zimbabwe to Puerto Rico continues.'

The difficulties trace to Presidential Proclamation 10998, which took effect January 1, 2026, fully suspending visas for nationals of 19 countries and partially restricting 19 more, Premium Times Nigeria reports.

The Republic of Congo and South Sudan face full restrictions, while Zambia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria are in the partial category, which suspends visitor, student, exchange and immigrant visas.

The New York Times reports the administration in December widened restrictions to Zambia and Zimbabwe while keeping full restrictions for Congo and adding them for South Sudan.

Beyond the pageant, organizers frame the absences as a loss of visibility for their countries. South Sudan's organizers said their queen 'carries the hopes, dreams, beauty, and resilience of a nation,' the AP reports.

The New York Times notes that Africans have long complained that strict Western visa rules impede legitimate professional and study opportunities, and that restrictions have grown more severe as Western attitudes toward immigration hardened.

Kambongo's historic first representation of Congo will now happen only on paper.

Hall says she is not giving up, writing that she remains confident her effort will be completed.

The pageant shows restrictions are not absolute: Premium Times Nigeria reports Nigeria's Danielle Adewusi, a 29-year-old medical doctor crowned in September, already arrived in San Juan on November 9 and is taking part in preliminary activities.