The United States Government has announced that it will cease routine visa issuance services at its embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic posts across Africa, effective August 1, 2026.
According to an official statement issued by the U.S. Department of State, the decision is part of a broader operational realignment aimed at consolidating visa processing into centralised regional hubs to enhance national security, eliminate government waste, and enforce uniform vetting standards.
Regional consolidation strategy
The State Department emphasised that the policy change under President Donald Trump’s administration focuses on prioritising American security while optimising diplomatic resources overseas.
“The Department of State is constantly evaluating its overseas operations in order to advance America’s priorities as efficiently and effectively as possible,” the statement read. “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 U.S. government clarified that the operational shift will not alter the diplomatic status of the affected embassies and consulates, nor will it invalidate any currently held, unexpired U.S. visas.
Consular assistance to American citizens residing in or visiting those nations will also continue uninterrupted.
Affected posts and remaining visa hubs
Under the new structure, routine U.S. visa applicants in Nigeria will now have to route their applications and interview appointments through the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, which remains fully operational as a regional processing hub.
The 25 African diplomatic posts discontinuing routine visa services include:
Abuja (Nigeria)
Asmara (Eritrea)
Bamako (Mali)
Banjul (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)
Meanwhile, routine visa services across the continent will remain concentrated at designated hub cities, including Lagos, Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar-Es-Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lome, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia, and Yaoundé.
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