US Plans To End Routine Visa Services at Abuja Embassy, 24 Other African Missions
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 ending on August 1, 2026. The US Department of State said the move is aimed at strengthening national security, reducing government spending, and improving consistency in visa screenings, vetting, and adjudication.
In a statement released on its website, the department said, The Trump administration is realigning overseas operations to better serve US national interests while putting “America and Americans first.’”The Department said the changes will not affect the overall operations of the affected embassies and consulates, which will continue carrying out other diplomatic and consular responsibilities, adding that all currently valid US visas remain valid. Missions 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 realignment covers several immigrant visa categories, including immediate relatives (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. Routine visa services will instead be handled at designated regional hubs, including 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. The Department noted that similar hub arrangements have already been implemented in parts of Africa and Europe.
The State Department said existing restrictions under Presidential Proclamation 10998, including visa suspensions, visa bond requirements, and immigrant visa pauses for certain nationalities, remain in effect. Applicants seeking US visas from August 1, 2026, have been advised to book appointments and pay visa fees at their designated regional hubs. The development is expected to affect thousands of Nigerian applicants who currently rely on the US Embassy in Abuja, with many now required to process their applications in Lagos or other designated hubs. Nigeria remains one of the largest sources of US visa applications in Africa.
Soliat Awobajo
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