The United States government is planning to drastically slash the number of American embassies and consulates in Africa that process visas for travellers, reducing the total from over 50 down to just 20. Under this directive, the US government will suspend visa processing at dozens of diplomatic missions across the continent, requiring applicants to travel to fewer, designated regional hubs to secure travel documents.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the sweeping directive was issued by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The US State Department is expected to systematically roll back consular operations at all but 20 approved hubs across Africa in the coming weeks.
Impact on Nigeria and Consolidated Operations
This drastic shift will directly disrupt travel operations in Nigeria. Under the newly minted policy, the US will cease all visa-processing operations in Abuja, effectively restricting all Nigerian visa services exclusively to the consulate in Lagos. While a definitive commencement date has not yet been announced, the policy is expected to take effect this month, with US envoys across Africa already instructed last week to begin scaling back services.
The State Department defended the consolidation as a strategic realignment of diplomatic assets. According to the AP, the State Department claimed the decision was driven by a necessity “to deploy more resources to US policy priorities.” “This includes a visa process that maintains rigorous standards of security screening and vetting and aligns resources and operational capacity with America’s national interests,” the State Department stated.
For prospective travellers living in non-hub countries, the policy introduces significant logistical hurdles, forcing them to journey to one of the 20 approved regional centres to apply for a US visa. The 20 hubs designated to remain open across the continent are Lagos, Nigeria; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Accra, Ghana; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Djibouti, Djibouti; Kampala, Uganda; and Kigali, Rwanda. The remaining centers include Kinshasa, Congo; Lome, Togo; Luanda, Angola; Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; Monrovia, Liberia; Nairobi, Kenya; Port Louis, Mauritius; Praia, Cape Verde; and Yaounde, Cameroon.
Part of a Broader Immigration Crackdown
This policy represents the latest mechanism in President Donald Trump’s broader crackdown on immigration. It follows previous sweeping bans on several visa categories from numerous African nations, including Nigeria, alongside strict regulations targeting temporary visa holders within the US.
A recent regulation mandates that foreign nationals in the US seeking to change their status to permanent residents must return to their home countries to apply for a Green Card. This is compounded by the enforcement of visa bond requirements of up to $15,000 for applicants from specific African nations.
While standard visa pathways are being choked, the US State Department clarified that consular sections in non-hub countries will not close entirely. They will remain open to offer highly limited services, including passport renewals for US citizens, emergency national interest cases, and diplomatic visa applications. Nonetheless, for the vast majority of African travellers, the pathway to the United States has just become significantly more narrow.
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