Effective August 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of State will restrict routine visa services at 25 posts in Africa to designated regional visa hubs. The change affects both nonimmigrant and immigrant visa processing and may require applicants to travel to another country for a visa interview.
Routine visa services will be “realigned” at the following consular locations to direct applicants to process at the regional visa hubs:
- Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Abuja, Nigeria
- Asmara, Eritrea
- Bamako, Mali
- Banjul, The Gambia
- Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
- Bujumbura, Burundi
- Conakry, Guinea
- Cotonou, Benin
- Durban, South Africa
- Freetown, Sierra Leone
- Gaborone, Botswana
- Harare, Zimbabwe
- Juba, South Sudan
- Libreville, Gabon
- Lilongwe, Malawi
- Lusaka, Zambia
- Maputo, Mozambique
- Maseru, Lesotho
- Mbabane, Eswatini
- N’Djamena, Chad
- Niamey, Niger
- Nouakchott, Mauritania
- Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- Windhoek, Namibia
The processing of routine visa services will now be provided at the U.S. embassies and consulates in:
- Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- 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, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Lagos, Nigeria
- Lomé, Togo
- Luanda, Angola
- Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
- Monrovia, Liberia
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Port Louis, Mauritius
- Praia, Cabo Verde
- Yaoundé, Cameroon
The realignment applies broadly to routine visa services, including:
- B-1/B-2 visitor visas and petition-based nonimmigrant visas, including employment-based categories;
- Immediate relative, family preference, and employment-based immigrant visas;
- K fiancé(e) visas;
- Diversity Visas;
- Adoption cases; and
- Follow-to-join refugee and asylee cases.
Many affected posts will continue to provide American Citizen Services and limited nonimmigrant visa services, but applicants should not assume that their particular visa category remains available locally.
Citizens and residents of affected countries applying on or after August 1, 2026 should confirm the appropriate designated nonimmigrant visa location or designated immigrant visa location before paying visa fees or scheduling an appointment.
Employers and travelers should plan for possible additional travel, costs, and processing time associated with attending an interview at a regional hub. Applicants with upcoming international travel or time-sensitive visa needs should consult immigration counsel before finalizing travel arrangements.
The immigration attorneys at Ryan Swanson can help employers and applicants navigate the visa application process and prepare for travel.
