Why Is the State Department Slashing Visa Processing Across Africa?

 The State Department published on 15 July 2026 an announcement titled "Realignment of U.S. Visa Services in Africa to Regional Hubs."

Effective August 1, the Department of State ended routine visa services at the following 25 US embassies and consulates in Sub-Saharan Africa: Antananarivo (Madagascar), Abuja (Nigeria), Asmara (Eritrea), Bamako (Mali), Banjul (The Gambia), Brazzaville (Republic of 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), and Windhoek (Namibia). 

Instead, persons seeking visas to visit the United States in the countries cited above will have to travel to a regional visa hub in one of the following 20 cities: Abidjan (Cote 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 (DRC), Lagos (Nigeria), Lome (Togo), Luanda (Angola), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), Monrovia (Liberia), Nairobi (Kenya), Port Louis (Mauritius), Praia (Cape Verde), and Yaoundé (Cameroon).

The Department of State said it is realigning visa operations in Sub-Saharan Africa as "part of a long-standing Department practice that strengthens national security by promoting more uniform screening, vetting, and adjudication standards, as well as improves efficiency."  

Comment:  The national security explanation is not convincing.  For example, a consular officer located in Lusaka can adjudicate a visa application just as uniformly and accurately as one at a visa hub in Johannesburg.  In fact, a consular officer located in the country of application has a better understanding of the applicant's background than a consular officer in another country.  Nor is the realignment likely to save much money.  US embassies and consulates are still expected to provide routine passport and protection services for American citizens.  The consular sections in most embassies and consulates in Africa are small with one individual often handling both visa services and assistance to American citizens.  

What the realignment will do is make it more difficult for many Africans to visit relatives in the United States, study at American universities, and travel for tourism and business.  The geography of the realignment means, for example, that the entire Sahel region and all of southern Africa except South Africa and Angola will no longer have local non-immigrant and immigrant visa services provided by US embassies and consulates.  This raises the question.  Is the real reason for this realignment to make it more difficult for Sub-Saharan Africans to come to the United States?  Whatever the rationale, the State Department has just handed another victory to China and Russia.  

 

Closing US Embassies: Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

 The New York Times published on 15 April 2025 an article titled "State Dept. Expands Plans for Closing Embassies and Consulates" by Karoun Demirjian.

The New York Times has viewed an internal State Department memo that says the Trump administration is considering plans to close 10 embassies and 17 consulates and reduce or consolidate the staff of several other foreign missions.  Six of the embassies up for closure are in Africa (Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gambia, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, and South Sudan) and two in Europe (Luxembourg and Malta) as well as Grenada and the Maldives.  Most of the consulates are in Europe.

Comment:  If these closures are carried out, China will have wider diplomatic representation globally than the United States.  Beijing currently has an embassy in all 54 African countries except Eswatini, which recognizes Taiwan. This puts China ahead of the United States today in Africa.  Closing six more US embassies in Africa will leave Washington at a distinct disadvantage.  Gambia has the same voting power in the UN General Assembly as the United States or China. For minimal savings, the Trump administration would alienate ten countries.  The party goes on in Beijing and Moscow.  

Downsizing Oversees State Department Missions: Trim but Don't Eliminate Embassies

The National Interest published on 19 March 2025 a commentary titled "Trim Embassies, Don't Close Them" by Ronald Neumann and Gregory Starr. 

As the Trump administration reduces US diplomatic and consular representation abroad, the authors argue persuasively that some consulates can be closed but America's 173 embassies should be retained although some staff can be trimmed.

Downsizing the US Department of State

 The New York Times published on 6 March 2025 an article titled "State Dept. Plans to Close Diplomatic Missions and Fire Employees" by Edward Wong and Mark Mazzetti.

The State Department has been hemorrhaging senior staff since the beginning of this year.  The Trump administration is looking to cut staffing by as much as 20 percent.  A dozen consulates, mostly in Western Europe, are on the chopping block.  Locally hired staff may be hit especially hard by the firings.  Embassies are also reportedly under discussion for closure.