NEWS
U.S Shuts Routine Visa Services in Abuja, 24 Other African Missions from August 1
The United States has announced a major restructuring of its visa operations across Africa, with routine visa services at its embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic missions set to be discontinued effective August 1, 2026.
The move, unveiled by the US Department of State, is part of a broader realignment of visa operations to regional processing hubs.
According to the department, the policy is aimed at strengthening national security, reducing government waste, and ensuring more consistent standards for visa screening, vetting, and adjudication.
In a statement, the State Department said the changes reflect the Trump administration’s commitment to prioritising America’s national interests while improving the efficiency of 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. 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 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 affected diplomatic missions include Abuja, alongside 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.
Despite the changes, the State Department stressed that the realignment does not alter the operational status of any US embassy or consulate. It noted that the missions will continue carrying out their diplomatic and consular responsibilities on behalf of the American people.
The department also clarified that the policy will not affect any U.S visas that are already valid.
According to the State Department, the visa categories being transferred to regional hubs include immediate relative (IR), family preference (FP), employment-based (EB), fiancée/fiancé (K) visas, adoption cases, diversity visas, and follow-to-join asylee and refugee (V92/V93) applications.
Officials further revealed that similar visa service realignments have already been successfully implemented in several African countries as well as parts of Europe.
Lagos Among 20 Missions Retaining Routine Visa Services
While Abuja will no longer process routine visa applications, the State Department confirmed that such 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 designated hub locations will handle all routine non-immigrant visa applications, including tourist, business and petition-based visas, as well as immigrant visa processing.
The department added that visa suspensions under Presidential Proclamation 10998, visa bond requirements and existing immigrant visa pauses for certain nationalities remain in effect.
Applicants from countries affected by the realignment who intend to apply for US visas on or after August 1, 2026, have been advised to schedule appointments and pay the required visa fees at the designated non-immigrant or immigrant visa processing hubs.
The policy is expected to significantly affect thousands of Nigerian applicants, many of whom currently rely on the US Embassy in Abuja for visa processing. Going forward, affected applicants will have to travel to Lagos or another designated visa hub on the continent to complete their applications.
Nigeria remains one of Africa’s largest sources of US visa applications, with the US Embassy in Abuja and the US Consulate in Lagos historically serving as the country’s two principal visa processing centres.