The United States has announced a major overhaul of its visa operations in Africa, with routine visa services at its embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic missions set to end from August 1, 2026.
The US Department of State said the move is part of a broader plan to centralise visa processing at regional hubs in a bid to strengthen national security, reduce government spending and ensure more consistent screening and vetting of applicants.
In a statement, the department said the Trump administration is restructuring overseas operations to better serve America’s national interests.
“The Department of State is constantly evaluating its overseas operations in order to advance America’s priorities as efficiently and effectively as possible,” the statement said.
“The Trump administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans, and the State Department will continue to provide Americans with appropriate consular services and assistance at diplomatic posts around the world,” it added.
The diplomatic posts affected by the policy include Abuja, Asmara, Bamako, Banjul, Brazzaville, Bujumbura, Conakry, Cotonou, Durban, Freetown, Gaborone, Harare, Juba, Libreville, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Maputo, Maseru, Mbabane, N’Djamena, Niamey, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou and Windhoek.
The State Department clarified that the affected embassies and consulates would remain operational and continue carrying out other diplomatic and consular responsibilities.
It also stressed that the policy does not affect visas that are already valid.
According to the department, the visa categories affected by the realignment include immediate relative (IR), family preference (FP), employment-based (EB), fiancé/fiancée (K visas), adoption visas, diversity visas, and follow-to-join asylee and refugee (V92/V93) cases.
The department noted that similar regional visa processing arrangements have already been implemented successfully in several African countries and parts of Europe.
However, routine visa services will continue at designated hub locations, including Lagos, Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lomé, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia, and Yaoundé.
These hubs will continue processing both non-immigrant visas, including tourist and business visas, as well as immigrant visa applications.
The department also stated that existing visa suspensions under Presidential Proclamation 10998, visa bond requirements and immigrant visa restrictions for certain nationalities remain in effect.
Applicants from affected countries seeking US visas on or after August 1, 2026, have been advised to schedule appointments and pay visa fees at the designated processing hubs.
The new policy is expected to affect thousands of Nigerian applicants who previously processed their visas at the US Embassy in Abuja, with many now expected to use the US Consulate in Lagos or other designated regional centres.
