US Shuts Down Routine Visa Processing at Abuja Embassy, 24 Other African Missions

US embassy, Abuja

US Shuts Down Routine Visa Processing at Abuja Embassy, 24 Other African Missions

The Trump administration’s restructuring aims to centralise visa services in regional hubs to enhance security and reduce costs.

The United States government has announced that routine visa processing at its embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic missions across Africa will end from August 1, 2026, as part of a major restructuring of its overseas consular operations. The US Department of State said the move is aimed at centralising routine visa services in regional hubs to enhance national security, reduce government spending, and ensure greater consistency in visa screening, vetting and adjudication.

In a statement on the US Department of State website, the department said the reorganisation aligns with President Donald Trump’s administration’s priority of placing America’s interests and security first. “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 read. “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.”

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Besides Abuja, the affected diplomatic posts are located in Asmara (Eritrea), Bamako (Mali), Banjul (Gambia), Brazzaville (Republic of 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), and Windhoek (Namibia). The State Department clarified that the change affects only routine visa processing and does not alter the operational status of the embassies and consulates involved. All affected diplomatic missions will continue to provide consular services, including American Citizen Services (ACS), emergency assistance to US citizens, and carry out their regular diplomatic functions on behalf of the United States. The department further assured travellers that the policy does not invalidate visas that have already been issued.

The realignment applies to most routine visa services, including both nonimmigrant and immigrant visa categories. Nonimmigrant visas affected include B-1/B-2 visitor visas, F-1 student visas, J-1 exchange visitor visas, and employment-based categories such as H, L, O, and P visas. Immigrant visa services being realigned include Immediate Relative (IR) visas, Family Preference (FP) visas, Employment-Based (EB) immigrant visas, K fiancé(e) visas, adoption cases, Diversity Visa (DV) cases, and follow-to-join asylee and refugee (V92/V93) cases.

Under the new arrangement, applicants in affected countries will be required to access routine visa services through designated regional processing hubs. 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 designated hubs will continue to process all routine non-immigrant visas, including tourist, business and petition-based visas, as well as immigrant visas. The announcement is expected to impact thousands of Nigerian applicants who currently process US visas in Abuja, forcing them to travel to Lagos or other designated hubs on the continent. Nigeria has one of the highest volumes of US visa applications in Africa, with the US Embassy in Abuja and Consulate in Lagos being the two main processing centres for Nigerian applicants. The State Department advised citizens and residents of affected countries seeking US visas from August 1, 2026, to book appointments and pay required fees at designated processing hubs. The department also noted that similar regional hub arrangements had already been implemented successfully in several African countries and parts of Europe. The State Department further stated that visa suspensions imposed under Presidential Proclamation 10998, visa bond requirements and immigrant visa pauses for certain nationalities would remain in effect. Applicants who already have appointments at affected posts should monitor their email for specific guidance from the department.