The U.S. State Department plans to close nearly 30 embassies and consulates responsible for processing visas in Africa. A memo seen by the Associated Press (AP) on Monday detailed this decision.
This is another move by the Trump administration to limit immigration pathways to the United States. Previous measures included travel bans targeting several African and Asian nations. Officials informed the AP that diplomats received updates last Friday about the reduction of visa services to 20 specific hubs across Africa.
Reason Behind Embassy Reduction in Africa
A State Department official did not confirm the decision directly with Newsweek. However, the official mentioned that the department regularly evaluates its overseas operations, which includes maintaining high security standards for the visa process.
The memo identified the 20 hubs that would continue processing visas:
- 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
By examining this list with the current Department of State records on African U.S. diplomatic sites, Newsweek noted that locations marked orange on the accompanying map will lose consular visa processing ability. The map also shows the nearest hub site for each affected country.
No exact date for the policy changes, approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has been provided. Officials suggested the transition is expected this month. Citizens from countries without visa services will need to travel to a nearby hub for processing. These locations will still offer emergency aid to U.S. citizens and handle diplomatic visas.
This report is a breaking news story. More updates will be provided as they become available.
This article includes reporting from the AP.
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