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.  

 

Chinese Buying Luxury Houses in Zimbabwe

 Bloomberg published on 3 April 2026 an article titled "For China's Rich, The New Must Have Is a Luxury Home in Zimbabwe."

Chinese companies have been drawn to Zimbabwe for its mineral wealth.  Increasingly, wealthy Chinese immigrants are paying cash for luxury homes in the capital of Harare, driving up housing prices in the process.  

Minnesota Immigration Crackdown Impacts Somali Businesses

 The Associated Press published on 18 January 2026 an article titled "Somali Businesses Struggle during the Minneapolis ICE Crackdown" by Sarah Raza.

Minneapolis/St. Paul has the largest concentration of Somali Americans in the United States.  The crackdown on immigrants in the Twin Cities has forced many Somali businesses to shut down.

US Travel Restrictions Take Aim at Africa Mostly for Visa Overstays

 The White House posted on 16 December 2025 a fact sheet titled "President Donald J. Trump Further Restricts and Limits the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States."

The United States added 15 countries to the list impacted by partial or full travel restrictions.  There are now 34 countries subject to some kind of restriction; 26 are in Africa.  The stated purpose of this policy is "to protect the Nation from national security and public safety threats."  

The proclamation continues full restrictions and entry limitations of nationals from 12 "high-risk" countries.  This includes the following African countries: Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan.  

It adds full restrictions and entry limitations on 5 additional countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and South Sudan.

It imposes full restrictions on 2 countries that were previously subject to partial restrictions, including Sierra Leone.

It continues partial restrictions on nationals of 4 original "high risk" countries, including Burundi and Togo.

It adds partial restrictions and entry limitations on 15 new countries.  They include Angola, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The Associated Press published on 16 December 2025 an article titled "Trump Expands Travel Ban and Restrictions to Include an Additional 20 Countries" by Rebecca Santana.

This article includes a map that clearly demonstrates the impact of this policy on African countries.

The New York Times published on 16 December 2025 an article titled "Trump Expands Travel Ban and Restrictions to 20 More Countries" by Tyler Pager and Hamed Aleaziz. 

The article reports that homeland security secretary Kristi Noem recommended to President Trump that he institute "a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies."

Comment: Most of the African countries on the list are there because of "high visa-overstay rates and refusal to repatriate removable nationals" from the United States.  Visa overstay means that an individual received a visa at a US embassy overseas to be in the United States for a limited period of time, for example 3 months to visit relatives or one year to study.  They stayed longer than the allotted period, which is a violation of US law.  But it has little or nothing to do with US national security. 

The fact sheet contains some African countries that do have unusually high visa overstay rates.  But others are not especially high.  Mauritania's B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate is 9 percent.  Nigeria has a B-1/B-2 overstay rate of 6 percent and F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 12 percent.  Senegal's B-1/B-2 overstay rate is 4 percent and F, M, and J overstay rate of 13 percent.  

The US policy seems more focused on cracking down on immigration and keeping certain foreigners out of the country than US national security.  As for Kristi Noem's comment on countries in the travel ban, has America fallen to this low level?   

Ethnic Politics US Style: Somali Americans the Current Focus

 Reuters published on 4 December 2025 an article titled "Trump 'Garbage' Rhetoric about Somalis Draws Cheers from Administration, Silence from Republicans and Alarm from Critics" by Bianca Flowers, James Oliphant, David Hood-Nuno, and Joseph Ax.  

About 76,000 people of Somali descent live in Minnesota.  More than half of them were born in the United States.  President Trump and members of his administration have begun describing the Somali community in derogatory language.

Comment:  Any resident of the United States, Somali or otherwise, should be prosecuted for proven criminal acts.  But debasing an entire ethnic community for the actions of a few bad actors is not the America that I know and love. 

Deporting Somalis from Minnesota Encounters Reality

 The New York Times published on 3 December 2025 an article titled "Obstacles to Trump's Push to Deport Minnesota Somalis: Reality and the Cold" by Ernesto Londono and Talya Minsberg.

President Trump called Somalis in Minnesota "garbage" and vowed to deport them.  But there is a problem.  The vast majority of Somalis have legal status in the United States and very few are legally candidates for deportation.  Trump has, however, created an atmosphere of xenophobia in the Twin Cities area.

Trump Lashes Out at Somalis in US

 The Wall Street Journal published on 2 December 2025 an article titled "Trump Says He Doesn't Want Somali Immigrants in U.S. as ICE Plans Operation" by Michelle Hackman, Natalie Andrews, and Jack Morphet.  

President Trump said he does not want immigrants from Somalia in the country ahead of an expected ICE operation in Minnesota, where the Somali American community is concentrated.  Last month, Trump said he would revoke Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota.  

He referred to Somali American elected member of Congress, Ilhan Omar, as "garbage."  Omar responded that "his obsession with me is creepy" and "I hope he gets the help he desperately needs." 

Podcast on Africa and US Elections

 This is a one hour and 15-minute Beyond Africa podcast with me hosted by Bernard Ngalim.  The major issues discussed are the impact of the upcoming election in the United States on Africa policy, Project 2025 and Africa, trade, aid, investment, and the role of the U.S. private sector.  

Podcast on US Elections, Africa Policy, and Horn of Africa

 Tigrai Press posted on 28 July 2024 a one-hour podcast with me hosted by Bisrat Kebede.  The conversation focuses initially on the election campaign between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, implications of the election for Africa policy, and Project 2025.  The remainder of the podcast deals with many of the ongoing issues in the Horn of Africa.   

US Department of Homeland Security Extends Status for Somalis in United States

 The US Department of Homeland Security issued a press release on 12 January 2023 titled "Secretary Mayorkas Extends and Redesignates Somalia for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months."

The order extends "Temporary Protected Status" (TPS) for Somalia for an additional 18 months.  It also allows Somali nationals residing in the United States as of January 11, 2023 to apply for TPS, so long as they meet all eligibility requirements.  The extension and redesignation of Somalia for TPS are due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent Somali nationals from safely returning to Somalia.

Nigeria to Install Chinese Border Security System

 Nigerian News Direct published on 10 October 2022 an article titled "FG Engages Huawei for Electronic Surveillance of Land Borders."

Nigeria has concluded plans to sign an agreement with Huawei Technologies to establish a 24/7 satellite-based electronic surveillance system along 5,000 kilometers of borders.

Barbaric Working Conditions at Chinese Factory in South Africa

 The Citizen published on 23 June 2022 an article titled "Home Affairs Condemns 'Slave-like' Working Conditions at Chinese Factory in Ekurhuleni" by Faizel Patel.  

The South African Department of Home Affairs condemned the barbaric working conditions at a Chinese-owned plastics factory that employed illegal immigrants from Malawi, Zimbabwe, and China.

African Traders in China and Chinese Traders in Africa

 The Migration Policy Institute published on 21 July 2021 an article titled "As Migration and Trade Increase between China and Africa, Traders at Both Ends Often Face Precarity" by Daouda Cisse.

Many African migrant entrepreneurs and traders who reside in China and Chinese migrants in Africa live in difficult circumstances.  An estimated 500,000 African migrants live in China and an estimated one to two million Chinese reside or work in Africa, although many are not entrepreneurs and traders.

African Migrants in China

The Africa Studies Quarterly published by the University of Florida devoted its February 2018 issue to "China-Africa Relations: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives on African 'Migrants' in China."

The issue contains the following articles:

--Introduction - China-Africa Relations: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives on African "Migrants" in China by Agnes Ngoma Leslie
--African Students in China: Research, Reality, and Reflection by Li Anshan
--From Pioneers to Professionals: African Brokers in a Maturing Chinese Marketplace by Heidi Ostbo Haugen
--The Bridge Is Not Burning Down: Transformation and Resilience within China's African Diaspora Communities by Adams Bodomo
--Transient: A Descriptive Concept for Understanding Africans in Guangzhou by Dong Niu

Chinese Migration to Zambia

The most recent issue of the Journal of Current Chinese Affairs published a study titled "Moving Beyond 'China in Africa': Insights from Zambian Immigration Data" by Hannah Postel, PhD student at Princeton.

The author looks at the scale and nature of Chinese migration to Zambia, observing there is increasing diversity in the population flow.

Somaliland: A Good News Education Story

CBS 60 Minutes ran a program on 30 April 2017 titled "Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Founds School in Somaliland" with Anderson Cooper.

American Jonathan Starr, a former hedge fund manager in Boston, decided in 2008 to do something different with his time and money--found the Abaarso School of Science and Technology in Somaliland. An American-style boarding school outside Hargeisa, it has been a huge success in spite of numerous obstacles. Nearly 90 percent of the first graduating class was accepted at colleges around the world. Some 40 graduates are now in American universities on academic scholarships. Students are attending, for example, Oberlin, Rochester, Yale, MIT, and Harvard.

If the Trump administration's ban on travel to the United States from Somalia, which includes Somaliland, stands, the next group of graduates may never make it to an American university.

Horn of Africa: Interview by Ethio Somali Democratic Council

The Ethio Somali Democratic Council posted a 20-minute interview with me on 30 January 2017. The interview dealt with issues concerning the Horn of Africa, Gulf States, and President Trump's executive order temporarily banning arrivals from seven countries including Somalia and Sudan.

Chinese Traders in Namibia

Pambazuka News published on 3 February 2016 an article titled "Chinese Traders in Windhoek" by Daouda Cisse, University of Alberta. 

The number of Chinese traders in Namibia is increasing and leading to allegations of growing corruption and resentment by Namibians.  The Chinese traders reportedly have no contact with the Chinese embassy in Windhoek. 

Chinese Community in Mauritius Doing Well but Declining

The New African magazine published on 15 June 2015 an article titled "Meet Africa's Most Integrated Chinese Community" by James Wan, a Mauritian journalist. 

The Chinese community in Mauritius is one of the oldest and more culturally integrated Chinese communities in Africa.  It constitutes 2-3 percent of the 1.3 million people who live in Mauritius, but it is a dwindling community.  Many younger Sino-Mauritians are studying overseas and then remaining there.  The community has done well economically; 25 of the top 100 companies in Mauritius are owned by Sino-Mauritians but the older owners are concerned that the younger generation is not remaining to take over the business.