National

US Visa Update: Map Shows Changes to Embassy Processing in Africa

By Dan Gooding Newsweek
State Department To Reduce Workforce After Supreme Court Ruling Clears Path. A sign for the U.S. Department of State is seen on the outside of the Harry S. Truman Federal Building on on July 11, 2025 in Washington, DC.
State Department To Reduce Workforce After Supreme Court Ruling Clears Path. A sign for the U.S. Department of State is seen on the outside of the Harry S. Truman Federal Building on on July 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The U.S. State Department is set to close almost 30 embassies and consulates that process visas in Africa, according to a memo seen by the Associated Press (AP) on Monday.

The move would be the latest made by the Trump administration to cut back on pathways for immigrants seeking to head to the United States, which has included travel bans affecting many African and Asian countries.

Officials who spoke with the AP said that diplomats were told Friday that visa services would be scaled back to 20 so-called hubs across the continent.

Why Is the Trump Administration Cutting US Embassies in Africa?

A State Department official would not confirm the move directly with Newsweek, saying that the department was constantly evaluating overseas operations, including “a visa process that maintains rigorous standards of security screening and vetting.”

The memo showed 20 hubs would continue processing visas on the continent.

  • Abidjan, Ivory Coast
  • 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, Congo
  • Lagos, Nigeria
  • Lome, Togo
  • Luanda, Angola
  • Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
  • Monrovia, Liberia
  • Nairobi, Kenya
  • Port Louis, Mauritius
  • Praia, Cape Verde
  • Yaounde, Cameroon

Using this list and comparing with current Department of State information on the U.S. diplomatic footprint in Africa, Newsweek understands the remaining sites colored orange in the map below will lose consular visa processing. The map shows the closest geographic hub site for each country affected.

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Service URL: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/29209453/embed

There was no set date for the change, approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but officials said it was likely to happen sometime this month.

Under the new rules, those applying for U.S. visas in a country without visa processing would need to travel to a nearby hub embassy or consulate for processing.

The sites without visa processing will still be able to offer emergency assistance to American citizens, as well as diplomatic visa services.

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.

This article contains reporting by the AP.

A sign for the U.S. Department of State is seen outside the Harry S. Truman Federal Building on July 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
A sign for the U.S. Department of State is seen outside the Harry S. Truman Federal Building on July 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Anna Moneymaker Getty Images

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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 3:52 PM.

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