Lagos retains visa hub status as US reduces centres across Africa

Thousands of Africans who want to travel to the United States may soon face higher costs and longer travel distances to apply for visas.

This follows a decision by the U.S. government to reduce the number of embassies and consulates processing visa applications across Africa.

Under the new plan, almost 50 U.S. diplomatic missions that currently handle visa applications will be merged into just 20 visa-processing centres.

The move is part of the Donald Trump administration’s efforts to strengthen immigration controls and tighten visa screening.

As a result, people living in countries without a designated visa centre may have to travel to another African country to submit their applications or attend visa interviews. This could increase travel expenses and create additional challenges for applicants.

Although visa services will be reduced in many locations, U.S. embassies and consulates in affected countries will continue to provide services for American citizens, such as passport renewals, emergency assistance, and other consular support.

Diplomatic visa applications and cases considered important to U.S. national interests will still receive attention.

The 20 African cities expected to retain full visa-processing services are Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lomé, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia, and Yaoundé.

The policy is part of a broader series of immigration measures introduced by the Trump administration, including stricter visa requirements and increased screening of applicants from several countries.

Analysts believe the new arrangement could make it more difficult for many Africans to obtain U.S. visas, especially those living in countries that will no longer offer full visa-processing services.

It may also lead to longer waiting times and higher travel costs for applicants across the continent.