The United States Department of State plans to drastically slash the number of its embassies and consulates processing visas for foreign nationals across the African continent. This decision is part of the Trump administration’s broader, stringent crackdown on immigration and visa issuance.
Currently, nearly 50 U.S. embassies and consulates in Africa process visa applications; however, the new plan aims to reduce this number to just 20. According to Associated Press (AP), while an exact start date has not been set, the change is expected to take effect in the coming weeks, likely in June.
Under a directive approved last week by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, only 20 designated “hubs” will continue full visa operations. According to this list, Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, has avoided the service cuts and has been identified as a vital hub that will continue to offer full visa services.
In addition to Addis Ababa, the list of remaining hubs includes Accra (Ghana), Nairobi (Kenya), Cape Town and Johannesburg (South Africa), Dakar (Senegal), and Djibouti (Djibouti).
This new policy will heavily impact citizens living in non-hub nations. Because U.S. consulates in those countries will halt routine visa processing, applicants will be forced to travel across international borders to one of the 20 designated hubs just to attend a visa interview.
This has raised widespread concerns over formidable travel expenses, logistical hardships, and severe processing delays for applicants. Nevertheless, embassies in non-hub countries will not close entirely; they will remain open to handle emergency services for American citizens, passport renewals, and rare, special diplomatic cases.
The move aligns with the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to curb immigration to the U.S. and clamp down on individuals who travel on temporary visas but overstay their permitted time. Visa processing in Africa has already faced previous hurdles, including travel bans on specific countries, a requirement for some applicants to post up to a $15,000 bond, and recent restrictions tied to Ebola outbreaks.
