The United States government has announced that it will discontinue routine visa services at its embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic missions across Africa, effective August 1, 2026.
The decision was disclosed in a statement issued by the US Department of State, which described the move as part of a broader realignment of visa operations aimed at strengthening national security, reducing government spending, and ensuring more consistent screening, vetting, and adjudication standards.
According to the department, the restructuring aligns with the administration of President Donald Trump’s policy of prioritizing America’s national interests through more efficient overseas operations.
“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 said.
“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 department stressed that the safety and security of Americans remain its highest priority, adding that US embassies and consulates worldwide will continue to provide essential consular services to American citizens.
Besides Abuja, the affected diplomatic posts include Asmara, Bamako, Banjul, Brazzaville, Bujumbura, Conakry, Cotonou, Durban, Freetown, Gaborone, Harare, Juba, Libreville, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Maputo, Maseru, Mbabane, N’Djamena, Niamey, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, and Windhoek.
The State Department clarified that the realignment does not affect the operational status of any US embassy or consulate, nor does it invalidate any currently valid US visas.
It also noted that similar regional visa processing arrangements have already been implemented successfully in several African countries and parts of Europe.
Under the new arrangement, routine visa services for applicants in the affected locations will be handled through designated regional hubs. These include 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.
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