The U.S. State Department plans to significantly reduce the number of embassies and consulates in Africa that can process visa applications for people who want to travel to the United States.
In the coming weeks, U.S. diplomatic missions currently handling visa applications across Africa is expected to drop from 50 to just 20. Although officials have not announced an exact date, they expect the changes to take effect in June.
The decision forms part of the Trump administration’s wider effort to tighten immigration controls.
The administration wants to reduce the number of both immigrant and non-immigrant visas issued and address concerns about visitors who remain in the country after their temporary visas expire.
It has also reduced staffing levels at embassies and consulates in several parts of the world.
During a conference call last Friday, U.S. diplomats, including senior consular officials, received notice that visa services across Africa would be scaled back, one official said.
Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved a directive that will limit full consular visa operations to 20 designated hubs across the continent. Officials and the internal memo confirmed the plan.
Several recent policies have already affected visa processing in Africa. These include travel restrictions on certain countries, a requirement for some applicants to provide a bond of up to $15,000, and disruptions linked to the Ebola outbreak.
Under the new arrangement, citizens of countries that do not host a visa-processing hub will need to travel to one of the approved locations to apply. For many people, this could mean higher costs, longer journeys, and additional logistical challenges.
Embassies and consulates in non-hub countries will remain open, but they will offer fewer services. Staff will continue to assist U.S. citizens with passport renewals, emergency consular matters, diplomatic visas, and cases considered important to U.S. national interests.
The State Department did not comment directly on the details outlined in the memo.
However, it said it “is constantly evaluating its overseas operations in order to deploy taxpayer resources in a way that advances America’s priorities as efficiently and effectively as possible.”
The department also stated that this process “includes a visa process that maintains rigorous standards of security screening and vetting and aligns resources and operational capacity with America’s national interests.”
According to the memo, the 20 visa-processing hubs that will continue offering full services are located in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Accra, Ghana; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cape Town, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Djibouti, Djibouti; Johannesburg, South Africa; Kampala, Uganda; Kigali, Rwanda; Kinshasa, Congo; Lagos, Nigeria; Lomé, Togo; Luanda, Angola; Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; Monrovia, Liberia; Nairobi, Kenya; Port Louis, Mauritius; Praia, Cape Verde; and Yaoundé, Cameroon.
This was monitored by The Ghana Report from The Associated Press.
