The United States Department of State is set to significantly restructure its visa processing operations across Africa, reducing the number of embassies and consulates handling applications from nearly 50 to 20 centres.
According to an internal memo and U.S. officials cited by The Associated Press, the changes are expected to take effect in June, although no specific implementation date has been announced.
Under the new arrangement, visa processing for both immigrant and non-immigrant categories will be centralised in 20 designated regional hubs across the continent.
The move is part of a broader U.S. immigration policy aimed at tightening visa issuance processes and reducing cases of overstays. U.S. diplomats were reportedly briefed on the decision during a conference call last Friday.
The State Department, under a directive approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said consular operations in non-hub countries will be scaled back. While these missions will remain open, they will only provide limited services such as assistance to American citizens, emergency consular support, passport renewals, and select diplomatic visa processing.
Officials said the department continuously reviews its global operations to ensure efficient use of resources while maintaining strict security screening standards aligned with U.S. national interests.
Here are the 20 designated U.S. visa processing hubs in Africa include:
1. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
2. Accra, Ghana
3. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
4. Cape Town, South Africa
5. Dakar, Senegal
6. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
7. Djibouti, DjiboutiRelated News
8. Johannesburg, South Africa
9. Kampala, Uganda
10. Kigali, Rwanda
11. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
12. Lagos, Nigeria
13. Lomé, Togo
14. Luanda, Angola
15. Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
16. Monrovia, Liberia
17. Nairobi, Kenya
18. Port Louis, Mauritius
19. Praia, Cape Verde
20. Yaoundé, Cameroon
