U.S. Visa Processing Consolidated to African Regional Hubs

The U.S. Department of State will restructure ordinary non‑immigrant and immigrant visa processing in Africa to twenty regional centers beginning 1 August 2026. The hubs include Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Lomé (Togo), Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lagos, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port‑Louis, Praia and Yaoundé.

Residents of 25 African countries – such as Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea and Mauritania – will lose local routine visa services and must travel to the nearest hub, most often Abidjan or Lomé, for interviews and document submission. Embassies will continue to handle emergency cases, diplomatic visas and services for U.S. citizens. Existing visas remain valid, and applicants with scheduled appointments will receive instructions by email. The move is part of a broader tightening of U.S. migration policy and adds travel costs, accommodation needs, and delays for students, entrepreneurs and other travelers from the affected nations.