U.S. to Scale Back Visa Processing Across African Embassies, Designate Regional Hubs | The United States government is preparing to significantly restructure its visa processing operations across Africa, a move that will see a reduction in the number of embassies handling visa applications and the introduction of designated regional processing centres.
According to the Associated Press (AP), the U.S. Department of State intends to cut the number of visa-processing embassies on the continent from nearly 50 to about 20 in the coming weeks. American diplomats and consular officials have received the directive as part of a broader review of consular operations across global missions.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the decision and may implement it as early as June, although officials have yet to confirm the rollout date.
Under the new arrangement, selected cities will serve as regional hubs for visa applications. These include Accra (Ghana), Nairobi (Kenya), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Johannesburg and Cape Town (South Africa), Dakar (Senegal), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Kampala (Uganda), Kigali (Rwanda), Kinshasa (DR Congo), Lagos (Nigeria), Lome (Togo), Luanda (Angola), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), Monrovia (Liberia), Port Louis (Mauritius), Praia (Cape Verde), Yaoundé (Cameroon), and Djibouti City (Djibouti).
Applicants from countries where visa processing is discontinued must travel to designated hubs to submit documents, complete biometric enrolment, and attend interviews. The change will increase travel costs and impose logistical burdens on many African applicants, particularly those in countries far from the newly designated centres.
Despite the restructuring, affected U.S. embassies and consulates will remain operational. Their roles will focus mainly on core diplomatic services, including assisting American citizens, providing emergency support, renewing passports, processing diplomatic visas, and handling selected special-case services.
The Associated Press further reports that the move forms part of a wider tightening of immigration and consular policies under the current U.S. administration, aimed at streamlining visa operations while strengthening border control measures.
The development also follows a series of diplomatic adjustments over the past year, including the recall and reassignment of U.S. ambassadors in several countries, with Africa among the regions significantly affected.
U.S. to Scale Back Visa Processing Across African Embassies, Designate Regional Hubs | Aviationghana
