U.S. Visa Services Shift From 25 African Posts to Regional Hubs

Routine U.S. visa processing shifted from 25 African diplomatic posts to designated regional hubs on August 1, 2026, requiring many applicants to use a processing location outside their home country.

The State Department announced the realignment on July 15. The affected posts are Antananarivo, 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.

What changed for applicants

Citizens and residents connected to the affected posts generally must schedule appointments and pay the required visa fee at the designated immigrant- or nonimmigrant-visa location for their country of residence or nationality. The correct processing post can vary by visa category and by whether the applicant is applying through residence or nationality.

The realignment covers routine nonimmigrant and immigrant services, including tourist and business visas, petition-based visa categories, immediate-relative and family-preference cases, employment-based visas, fiancé(e) visas, adoptions, Diversity Visas and follow-to-join cases for refugees and asylees.

The State Department’s current visa guidance directs residents of countries affected by the realignment to use a designated alternate processing post, unless they are nationals of another country with continuing visa operations. Applicants should check the department’s immigrant- and nonimmigrant-visa location lists before scheduling or paying for travel.

Where processing is moving

The designated regional hubs are in 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 Yaoundé.

For some applicants, a routine interview may now require international travel. That can create additional planning needs for transportation, lodging, entry documents and time away from work or school. The State Department has not established one universal hub for every applicant, so travelers should confirm the assigned post before booking arrangements.

For immigrant-visa cases, medical examinations may be completed in the applicant’s home country if a panel physician is available. Applicants may also complete the examination at the designated hub.

Embassies are not closing

The State Department says the affected embassies and consulates remain open. The change concerns routine visa processing and does not change the operating status of the diplomatic posts.

Many affected locations will continue providing American Citizen Services and limited nonimmigrant-visa services. Applicants with appointments at posts where routine processing is ending should monitor email and the relevant embassy or consulate website for country-specific instructions, including any appointment-transfer guidance.

Independent reporting by The Associated Press and an immigration-law analysis by Fragomen also described the consolidation as a move from 25 affected posts to 20 regional hubs. The American Immigration Lawyers Association published a practitioner summary of the State Department’s announcement and FAQs.

What did not change

Currently valid U.S. visas are not affected by the realignment, according to the State Department. The announcement also says that separate visa suspensions, visa-bond requirements and immigrant-visa pauses for certain nationalities remain in place.

The department said the consolidation is intended to promote more uniform screening, vetting and adjudication while using overseas resources more efficiently. Those are the agency’s stated purposes; the announcement does not establish how wait times, approval rates or total applicant costs will change.

Applicants should confirm the correct processing post, review any appointment-transfer message, verify medical-exam requirements and check whether separate restrictions apply to their nationality or visa category before making travel arrangements.

Sources

• U.S. Department of State: Realignment of U.S. Visa Services in Africa to Regional Hubs
• U.S. Department of State: U.S. Visas
• Associated Press: US targets embassies in Africa that can process visas