On July 15, 2026 the U.S. State Department announced a realignment of non-immigrant and immigrant visa services at U.S. consular posts across Africa, effectively consolidating visa services to designated regional hubs. As a result, citizens of certain countries seeking U.S. visas may be required to travel to a third country to obtain their visas. The changes go into effect on August 1, 2026.
More specifically, routine visa services at the following U.S. posts will be assigned to a specific regional hub. The affected posts include the following: 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. The State Department indicates that citizens of countries currently served by these posts will need to apply for their visa at an assigned designated Nonimmigrant Visa Locations or designated Immigrant Visa Locations.
Embassies and consulates 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 will serve as the regional hubs for visa processing.
Visa applicants who have already scheduled visa appointments at one of the affected consular posts will receive instructions from their U.S. consulate by email regarding the status of their visa application and appointment.