The United States government has announced a sweeping restructuring of its visa operations across Africa, with routine visa services at its embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic posts set to be discontinued from August 1, 2026.
The decision, unveiled by the U.S Department of State, is part of a broader realignment of overseas operations aimed at strengthening national security, reducing government waste and ensuring more consistent standards in visa screening, vetting and adjudication.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the State Department said the move reflects the Trump administration’s policy of prioritising the safety and security of Americans while deploying diplomatic resources more efficiently.
“The Department of State is constantly evaluating its overseas operations in order to advance America’s priorities as efficiently and effectively as possible. 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 statement said.
It added, “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”.
The affected diplomatic posts 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 realignment does not amount to the closure of any embassy or consulate, noting that all affected missions will continue carrying out their diplomatic and consular responsibilities. It also stressed that the policy will not invalidate any existing US visas.
According to the Department, the immigrant visa categories being transferred to designated regional hubs include immediate relative (IR), family preference (FP), employment-based (EB), fiancée/fiancé (K) visas, adoptions, diversity visas and follow-to-join asylee and refugee cases (V92/V93).
The Department said the hub model had already been implemented successfully in several African countries and parts of Europe. While Abuja is among the posts losing routine visa processing, Lagos will remain one of the major visa hubs on the continent.
Routine visa services will continue at US embassies and consulates in 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 hub locations will handle all routine non-immigrant visas, including tourist, business and petition-based categories, as well as immigrant visa applications.
The State Department further noted that visa suspensions under Presidential Proclamation 10998, visa bond requirements and immigrant visa pauses affecting certain nationalities remain in force. It advised citizens and residents of countries affected by the restructuring to book appointments and pay visa fees at the appropriate designated visa hubs for applications submitted on or after August 1, 2026.
The announcement is expected to have significant implications for Nigerian applicants, many of whom currently process US visas in Abuja. From August, applicants seeking routine visa services may be required to travel to Lagos or other designated regional centres.
