ABUJA, Nigeria — The United States will discontinue routine visa services at its embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic posts across Africa effective August 1, 2026.
Golden Info reports that the United States Department of State announced the operational realignment to regional hubs as part of measures to strengthen national security, reduce government spending, and establish uniform vetting standards.
In an official statement, the United States Department of State said, “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 added, “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.”
The discontinuation of routine visa processing affects diplomatic posts in 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. Realigned immigrant visa categories include immediate relative, family preference, employment-based, fiancé and fiancée K visas, adoptions, diversity visas, and follow-to-join asylee and refugee cases.
Routine nonimmigrant and immigrant visa operations will continue across 20 designated regional hubs, including Lagos, Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar-Es-Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lome, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia, and Yaoundé.
Existing visa suspensions designated under Presidential Proclamation 10998, visa bond requirements, and immigrant visa pauses for specific nationalities remain in effect. Applicants seeking visas on or after August 1, 2026, are required to schedule appointments and pay fees at designated nonimmigrant or immigrant visa hubs.