The Trump administration will reduce the number of U.S. embassies and consulates in Africa that process visas from nearly 50 to 20, according to an internal State Department memo and three U.S. officials.
The change, expected to take effect in June 2026, forms part of a broader effort to restrict immigration by limiting visa issuance and tightening controls on overstays. Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the directive last week.
Under the new rules, routine visa processing will occur only at 20 designated hubs. Consular sections in other countries will remain open but will handle only U.S. citizen services, such as passport renewals and emergency assistance, as well as rare special cases and diplomatic visas.
Nairobi is one of the 20 hubs. This means Kenyans can continue to apply for U.S. visas locally, while applicants from many neighboring countries without hubs will need to travel to Nairobi or other designated locations.
The full list of hubs includes: Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lome, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia, and Yaounde.
The decision was communicated to U.S. diplomats, including consular chiefs, during a conference call last Friday.
Officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said the move will concentrate resources at larger posts and reduce staffing at smaller ones.
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Travelers from non-hub countries now face additional costs and logistical barriers. Many will cross multiple borders to reach a hub for visa interviews, a process already complicated by existing requirements such as a travel ban on certain nations, a potential $15,000 bond for some applicants, and health-related restrictions from the Ebola outbreak.
The policy aligns with other Trump administration actions on immigration. These include suspending immigrant visa processing from dozens of countries over public assistance concerns and scaling back personnel at diplomatic missions worldwide.
The reduction follows years of strained consular operations in Africa. Visa processing has faced backlogs due to staffing shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic, and security concerns at some posts.
By centralizing services, the State Department aims to manage workloads more efficiently while advancing the administration’s goal of lower overall immigration levels.
For East Africa, the selection of Nairobi, Kigali, Kampala, Addis Ababa, and Dar es Salaam as hubs creates several regional centers.
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Applicants from countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, and others without hubs will likely route through Johannesburg, Nairobi, or Dar es Salaam.
U.S. officials have not released a detailed implementation timeline beyond the June target. Embassies in non-hub countries are expected to update their websites and notify applicants in the coming days.
The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the impact on specific countries or projected wait times at the new hubs.
African diplomats and immigration consultants have expressed concern that the policy could slow legitimate travel and trade ties between the United States and Africa. However, the administration maintains that streamlined operations at fewer locations will allow for stronger screening without reducing core diplomatic functions.
