By Ene Rebecca
July 29, 2026
The United States has announced that routine visa services at its embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic missions across Africa will end from August 1, 2026, under a regional restructuring of its visa operations.
The US Department of State said the realignment seeks to strengthen national security, reduce government spending and ensure more consistent screening, vetting and adjudication standards. The department described the change as part of efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to align overseas operations with US national interests.
“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 said. “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.”
Diplomatic posts affected include Abuja, 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 department stressed that the realignment would not change the operating status of the embassies and consulates or the other consular services they provide. Valid visas already issued will remain unaffected.
Immigrant visa categories covered by the restructuring include immediate relative visas, family preference visas, employment-based visas, fiancée and fiancé visas, adoption cases, diversity visas, and follow-to-join asylee and refugee cases. Similar regional hub arrangements have already been introduced in several African countries and parts of Europe.
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 hubs will handle all routine non-immigrant visas, including tourist, business and petition-based visas, as well as immigrant visas.
Visa suspensions under Presidential Proclamation 10998, visa bond requirements and immigrant visa pauses for certain nationalities will remain in force. Citizens and residents of the affected countries seeking US visas from August 1, 2026, have been advised to book appointments and pay the required fees at the designated processing hubs.
The change is expected to affect thousands of Nigerian applicants who currently process visas in Abuja, many of whom will need to complete applications in Lagos or other regional centres. Nigeria ranks among the highest sources of US visa applications in Africa, with the embassy in Abuja and the consulate in Lagos serving as the country’s main processing locations.
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