NAIROBI, Kenya — The United States government is planning a major overhaul of its visa operations in Africa that could force thousands of travellers to seek visa services outside their home countries.
According to a report by the Associated Press (AP), the U.S. State Department intends to reduce the number of African embassies and consulates processing visa applications from nearly 50 to just 20 regional hubs, significantly reshaping how Africans access U.S. travel documents.
The move, which was communicated to American diplomats and consular officials during a conference call last week, has reportedly been approved by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and could begin taking effect as early as June, although Washington has not yet announced an official implementation date.
If implemented, the changes would make Nairobi one of the continent’s key regional visa processing centres, alongside cities such as Accra, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Dakar, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lagos and Dar es Salaam.
The restructuring means that applicants in countries whose embassies lose visa-processing functions may be required to travel to one of the designated regional hubs to submit applications, attend visa interviews, provide biometric data or complete other immigration procedures.
For many Africans, the shift is expected to increase travel costs, accommodation expenses and processing times, particularly for applicants living in countries located far from the nearest visa-processing centre.
Under the proposed arrangement, embassies and consulates that lose visa-processing responsibilities will remain operational but will focus primarily on services for American citizens.
According to the AP report, these diplomatic missions will continue handling passport renewals, emergency assistance for U.S. citizens, diplomatic visas and other special consular services considered to be in the U.S. national interest.
Nairobi among key regional hubs
Kenya is expected to play a central role in the new system.
As one of the designated processing centres, the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi could see a significant increase in visa applications from neighbouring countries, potentially making it one of the busiest American consular missions in Africa.
Other regional processing hubs identified in the report include Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, Accra in Ghana, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, Dakar in Senegal, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Djibouti City in Djibouti, Kampala in Uganda, Kigali in Rwanda, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lagos in Nigeria, Lomé in Togo, Luanda in Angola, Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, Monrovia in Liberia, Port Louis in Mauritius, Praia in Cape Verde and Yaoundé in Cameroon.
The concentration of visa services in fewer locations is expected to increase demand at these centres while reducing direct access to U.S. visa services in several other African countries.
Part of broader immigration and diplomatic changes
The proposed changes come as President Donald Trump continues to pursue a broader agenda focused on tightening immigration controls and restructuring aspects of U.S. diplomatic operations overseas.
The visa-processing overhaul follows a series of diplomatic adjustments undertaken by the administration over the past year, including the recall of ambassadors from multiple countries and reviews of consular operations across various regions.
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Supporters of the changes argue that concentrating visa services in regional hubs could improve efficiency and allow the State Department to deploy personnel and resources more effectively.
Critics, however, warn that the move risks creating additional barriers for legitimate travellers, students, businesspeople and tourists seeking access to the United States.
Concerns over accessibility
Immigration experts say the changes could disproportionately affect applicants from smaller African countries that currently rely on local U.S. embassies for visa services.
In some cases, applicants may be required to travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometres to attend mandatory visa interviews, adding significant costs to an already expensive application process.
The move could also place additional pressure on the designated regional hubs as they absorb increased workloads from neighbouring countries.
While the U.S. State Department has yet to formally announce the restructuring, the reported changes signal one of the most significant shifts in American visa operations in Africa in recent years and could reshape how millions of Africans access U.S. consular services in the future.
