The United States is slashing its visa-processing footprint across Africa. Nearly 30 embassies and consulates will stop processing visas, leaving just 20 hubs to serve the entire continent.
The US State Department is set to close almost 30 embassies and consulates that process visas in Africa, according to a memo seen by the Associated Press on Monday. The move is the latest made by the Trump administration to cut back on pathways for immigrants seeking to head to the United States, following travel bans affecting many African and Asian countries.
Officials who spoke with the AP said diplomats were told Friday that visa services would be scaled back to 20 so-called hubs across the continent.
The Remaining Hubs
Under the new rules, those applying for US visas in a country without visa processing will need to travel to a nearby hub embassy or consulate for processing. The 20 hubs that will continue processing visas are:
Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Accra, Ghana; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cape Town, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal; Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania; Djibouti, Djibouti; Johannesburg, South Africa; Kampala, Uganda; Kigali, Rwanda; Kinshasa, Congo; Lagos, Nigeria; Lome, Togo; Luanda, Angola; Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; Monrovia, Liberia; Nairobi, Kenya; Port Louis, Mauritius; Praia, Cape Verde; and Yaounde, Cameroon.
The sites without visa processing will still be able to offer emergency assistance to American citizens and diplomatic visa services. But for ordinary Africans seeking tourist, student, or business visas to the United States, the nearest processing center may now be hundreds or thousands of miles away.
There was no set date for the change, approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but officials said it was likely to happen sometime this month.
The Bigger Picture
Travel bans have been a central pillar of the Trump administration’s approach to legal immigration, with Africa increasingly at the center of new restrictions. A December 2025 proclamation expanded entry limits to 39 countries — many of them in Africa — imposing full or partial suspensions on both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas.
Analysts have noted that Africa has borne the brunt of these measures, with some estimates suggesting that dozens of African nations now face either visa bans, partial restrictions, or expanded screening requirements tied to security concerns, visa overstays, and deportation compliance.
Other policy shifts have reinforced this trend. The administration has also paused immigrant visa processing for nationals of dozens of countries, including many in Africa, while reassessing screening procedures and tightening “public charge” rules that make it harder for applicants perceived as likely to rely on government assistance.
The Ebola Factor
The current Ebola outbreak in Central and East Africa has added another layer of restrictions. Last month, US authorities introduced emergency measures, including entry restrictions and enhanced health screening, for travelers who had recently been in outbreak-affected areas such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan.
The State Department also temporarily paused all visa services at US embassies in the hardest-hit countries, halting appointments for tourist, student, business, and immigrant visas alike.
A State Department official would not confirm the move directly to Newsweek, saying that the department was constantly evaluating overseas operations, including “a visa process that maintains rigorous standards of security screening and vetting.”
The Bottom Line
The United States is closing nearly 30 visa-processing embassies and consulates across Africa, scaling back to just 20 hubs on the continent. Applicants from countries without a hub will need to travel to a nearby nation for visa processing. The change, approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is expected to take effect this month. It follows travel bans, paused immigrant visa processing, and emergency Ebola-related restrictions — all part of the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on immigration from Africa.
For millions of Africans hoping to visit, study, or work in the United States, the path just got longer and more expensive.
