United States: State Department Announces Regional Hubs in Africa for U.S. Visa Services Effective August 1

Effective August 1, 2026, the Department of State (DOS) will realign visa operations in Africa to regional hubs. The agency says the reorganization is meant to promote uniform screening, vetting and adjudication standards, as well as improve efficiency. The realignment will impact all routine visa services, including both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas. The agency confirmed that the realignment will not change the operating status of any of the embassies or consulates.

Specifically, DOS will realign routine visa services in the following cities to a regional visa hub: Antananarivo, Abuja, 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. Citizens and residents of these countries who wish to apply for a visa on or after August 1, 2026, must schedule an appointment and pay the required visa fee at the appropriate designated Nonimmigrant Visa Locations or designated Immigrant Visa Locations.

The following posts will serve as regional visa hubs: Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar-Es-Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lome, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia, and Yaoundé.

The agency has also issued FAQs with the announcement with details on appointments, machine-readable visa (MRV) fees, and medical exams, among others.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.