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The Department of State has announced a significant restructuring of visa operations across Africa, effective Aug. 1, 2026. Under this initiative, routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processing at certain U.S. embassies and consulates will be consolidated into designated regional visa processing hubs or centers. According to the Department of State, this realignment is intended to promote greater consistency in visa screening, vetting, and adjudication, while aligning resources with U.S. foreign policy and security priorities.
Key Changes
Beginning Aug. 1, 2026, routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa services will discontinue at the following 25 posts:
- Antananarivo
- Abuja
- Asmara
- Bamako
- Banjul
- Brazzaville
- Bujumbura
- Conakry
- Cotonou
- Durban
- Freetown
- Gaborone
- Harare
- Juba
- Libreville
- Lilongwe
- Lusaka
- Maputo
- Maseru
- Mbabane
- N’Djamena
- Niamey
- Nouakchott
- Ouagadougou
- Windhoek
Applicants from these countries will be required to schedule visa appointments and pay applicable fees through the designated regional visa processing hubs listed below.
Regional Visa Processing Hubs
Routine visa services will be centralized at the following U.S. embassies and consulates:
- Abidjan
- Accra
- Addis Ababa
- Cape Town
- Dakar
- Dar es Salaam
- Djibouti
- Johannesburg
- Kampala
- Kigali
- Kinshasa
- Lagos
- Lomé
- Luanda
- Malabo
- Monrovia
- Nairobi
- Port Louis
- Praia
- Yaoundé
Impact on Embassies, Consulates
This realignment does not close any embassy or consulate. Posts affected will remain operational and will continue providing limited/selected consular services.
Many posts will continue to offer:
- American Citizen Services (ACS)
- Limited nonimmigrant visa services
The Department of State has noted that Bangui will provide emergency ACS services only. Additionally, there are currently no consular operations in Bangui or Khartoum.
Guidance for Current Applicants
Applicants with Existing Appointments
Applicants who already have visa appointments scheduled at affected posts should monitor their email for country-specific instructions from the Department of State regarding appointment transfers, rescheduling procedures, or other case-related instructions.
MRV Fee Considerations
Applicants who have already paid the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee at a post transitioning to limited visa services must schedule an appointment by July 31, 2026. According to the Department of State, MRV fees will not be refunded if an appointment is not scheduled before the transition date.
Although affected embassies and consulates will remain open and continue providing certain services, most routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications will be processed through regional centers. Applicants should review their case status carefully, monitor communications from the Department of State, and plan for potential travel to a regional visa hub when scheduling future visa appointments.
Because this realignment may significantly affect visa processing logistics, applicants and sponsoring employers should prepare for possible additional travel requirements, increased costs, appointment scheduling adjustments, changes in processing timelines, and potential delays associated with scheduling appointments, obtaining travel documents, and coordinating travel to regional processing locations.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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