Update on DOS mass closure of consulates in Africa – implementation FAQs
As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, the Department of State is conducting a restructuring of visa operations across Africa, effective August 1, 2026. 25 posts are discontinuing immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processing, with these processes now exclusively taking place in 20 “hubs”. This policy change comes at a time when the Trump administration is already limiting or outright banning travel to the United States for many African nationals.
The Department of State has given additional information on the implementation of these changes. Below is a summary of the provided questions and answers:
Q: Is the State Department closing any consulates or embassies? No, all posts mentioned above will remain open.
Q: Which posts will serve as hubs? Routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa services will be provided at the U.S. 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.
Q: Which posts will now only provide American Citizen Services (ACS) and limited nonimmigrant visa services? Antananarivo, Asmara, Bamako, Bangui (emergency ACS only), Banjul, Brazzaville, Bujumbura, Conakry, Cotonou, Durban, Freetown, Gaborone, Harare, Juba, Libreville, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Maputo, Maseru, Mbabane, N’Djamena, Niamey, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, Windhoek. There are no consular operations in Bangui and Khartoum.
Q: What type of visa services are no longer offered at the 25 non-hub posts? All routine visas services, for both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas, will no longer be offered. Visa services will likely only be available in exceptional cases at these posts.
Q: What should I do if I have an appointment scheduled at a post where routine visa services are being discontinued? The Department of State will be in contact with those affected by these changes via email.
Q: If I have paid the machine-readable visa fee at a non-hub post from August 1, but do not schedule an appointment by July 31, will my fee be refunded? No. You must schedule an appointment by July 31.
Q: Does this affect my current valid visa? No. This does not affect any currently valid visas.
Q: Where will applicants conduct their immigrant visa medical exams? Applicants can complete their medical exam in either their home country if available or in the designated hub.