The United States Department of State has announced that it would discontinue routine visa services at its Embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic posts across Africa, effective August 1, 2026, as part of a broader realignment of its global consular operations.
According to the Department, the restructuring is aimed at strengthening national security, improving efficiency, reducing operational costs, and ensuring more consistent standards for visa screening, vetting, and adjudication.
In a statement, the Department said the move reflected the administration’s commitment to prioritizing the safety and security of Americans while aligning overseas operations with U.S. national interests.
“The Department of State is constantly evaluating its overseas operations in order to advance America’s priorities as efficiently and effectively as possible. This includes a visa process that maintains rigorous standards of security screening and vetting and aligns resources and operational capacity with America’s national interests,” the statement read.
Despite the change, the Department emphasized that U.S. embassies and consulates affected by the policy would remain operational and continue to provide other consular services, including assistance to American citizens. It also clarified that the realignment would not affect the validity of visas already issued.
Under the new arrangement, routine visa services in Nigeria will continue at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, which has been designated as one of the regional visa processing hubs. Applicants who would have previously scheduled visa appointments in Abuja will now be required to apply through Lagos.
Other African diplomatic posts affected by the realignment include 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 Department noted that the regional hub model has already been implemented successfully in several African countries and parts of Europe.
Routine visa processing will continue at designated hubs, including Lagos, Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lomé, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia, and Yaoundé.
