US to cut visa-processing embassies in Africa from 50 to 20 regional hubs

The United States government is planning a major shake-up of its visa operations across Africa, reducing the number of embassies authorised to process visas from nearly 50 to just 20 regional hubs, according to an internal State Department memo obtained by the Associated Press.

The consolidation, approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is expected to take effect in the coming weeks. The move aligns with the Trump administration’s broader push to tighten immigration enforcement and reduce visa overstays, and it comes amid an ongoing global drawdown of American diplomatic personnel.

For millions of African travellers, students, and business professionals, the policy shift will introduce significant logistical and financial challenges. Applicants from countries that lose their visa-processing capabilities will now have to travel internationally to attend mandatory in-person interviews at one of the designated hubs.

The State Department has finalised the 20 regional hubs that will handle all continent-wide visa operations. In West Africa, the hubs are Lagos (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Dakar (Senegal), Lomé (Togo), Monrovia (Liberia), and Praia (Cape Verde).

In East and Central Africa, the hubs include Nairobi (Kenya), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Kampala (Uganda), Kigali (Rwanda), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Djibouti (Djibouti), and Yaoundé (Cameroon).

In Southern Africa, the designated hubs are Johannesburg and Cape Town (South Africa), Luanda (Angola), and Port Louis (Mauritius). For Central and island nations, the hub is Malabo (Equatorial Guinea).

Under the new framework, dozens of existing consular sections will see their operations heavily restricted. Embassies in non-hub cities  including major capitals such as Abuja, Nigeria will cease regular visa processing entirely. Instead, those offices will pivot exclusively to emergency services, assisting American citizens abroad, and processing official diplomatic credentials.

The State Department has not yet provided a timeline for when individual embassy websites will stop accepting local visa appointments.