• The US will discontinue routine visa services at 25 diplomatic posts across Sub-Saharan Africa from 1st August, 2026, centralising visa processing at 20 regional hubs.

• Applicants from affected cities will now travel to designated regional visa centres in 19 African countries to process tourist, business, work and immigrant visa applications.

• The US says the restructuring is intended to strengthen security and improve efficiency, while confirming that embassies and consulates will remain open to provide other consular services.

The US Department of State said the move forms part of a broader realignment strategy that will consolidate visa processing into a smaller network of regional hubs, reducing the number of missions handling visa applications in Sub-Saharan Africa from about 50 to 20 regional centres.

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According to the department, the restructuring is intended to strengthen national security, reduce government expenditure, and ensure more consistent screening, vetting and adjudication standards across US diplomatic missions worldwide.

The State Department said it is “constantly evaluating its overseas operations” to advance US priorities as efficiently as possible, adding that visa processing must continue to meet rigorous security standards while aligning resources with national interests.

Officials stressed that the Trump administration considers the safety and security of Americans its highest priority. They also emphasised that no US embassies or consulates are being closed under the new arrangement. All affected missions will continue to provide other consular services and assistance to US citizens, even though routine visa processing will cease.

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Routine visa services will end at the following diplomatic posts from 1st August, 2026:

• Abuja (Nigeria)

• Antananarivo (Madagascar)

• Asmara (Eritrea)

• Bamako (Mali)

• Banjul (The Gambia)

• Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo)

• Bujumbura (Burundi)

• Conakry (Guinea)

• Cotonou (Benin)

• Durban (South Africa)

• Freetown (Sierra Leone)

• Gaborone (Botswana)

• Harare (Zimbabwe)

• Juba (South Sudan)

• Libreville (Gabon)

• Lilongwe (Malawi)

• Lusaka (Zambia)

• Maputo (Mozambique)

• Maseru (Lesotho)

• Mbabane (Eswatini)

• N’Djamena (Chad)

• Niamey (Niger)

• Nouakchott (Mauritania)

• Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

• Windhoek (Namibia)

Notably, the restructuring does not affect North African countries. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt will continue offering routine US visa services, with the changes focused almost entirely on Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Applicants from the affected countries will now be required to attend visa appointments at one of 20 designated regional processing hubs located across 19 African countries. South Africa hosts two of these centres, in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

The regional hubs are:

• Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)

• Accra (Ghana)

• Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)

• Cape Town (South Africa)

• Dakar (Senegal)

• Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)

• Djibouti (Djibouti)

• Johannesburg (South Africa)

• Kampala (Uganda)

• Kigali (Rwanda)

• Kinshasa (DR Congo)

• Lagos (Nigeria)

• Lomé (Togo)

• Luanda (Angola)

• Malabo (Equatorial Guinea)

• Monrovia (Liberia)

• Nairobi (Kenya)

• Port Louis (Mauritius)

• Praia (Cape Verde)

• Yaoundé (Cameroon)

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The changes apply to all routine visa categories, including non-immigrant visas such as tourist, business and temporary employment visas, as well as immigrant visas for family reunification and employment-based migration.

The State Department has advised applicants with existing appointments at affected missions to monitor their email for further instructions on rescheduling.

Applicants who have already paid visa application fees at missions where services are ending have been urged to book and attend their interview appointments before 31st July, 2026, ahead of the transition.

The department also clarified that the restructuring does not affect visas that have already been issued and remain valid. Likewise, embassies and consulates will remain operational and continue providing other consular services, although routine visa processing will be transferred to regional hubs.

For many applicants, the new arrangement means additional travel costs, visa requirements for transit countries in some cases, accommodation expenses and longer processing timelines, as they may now need to travel to another country simply to attend a visa interview.

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The changes follow an internal review by the US administration aimed at streamlining the global footprint of American diplomatic missions.

By concentrating visa processing in fewer, larger regional centres, Washington says it will be able to apply stricter and more consistent security procedures while making more efficient use of resources.

The announcement comes amid broader immigration measures introduced by the Trump administration, including travel restrictions affecting citizens of some countries and a separate pilot programme requiring certain visa applicants to provide refundable financial guarantees of up to US$15,000.

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Although the restructuring does not affect the validity of existing visas or the operation of US embassies and consulates, it represents one of the most significant changes to US visa processing in Africa in recent years.