By Opeyemi Adelakun
The United States government has announced that it will discontinue routine visa services at its Embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic posts across Africa from August 1, as part of a broader restructuring aimed at strengthening security and streamlining consular operations.
The US Department of State disclosed that the move forms part of the Trump administration’s efforts to realign overseas visa operations to regional processing hubs in order to enhance security screening, reduce operational costs and ensure uniform standards in visa adjudication.
According to the Department, the decision reflects its ongoing evaluation of diplomatic operations to better align resources with America’s national interests while maintaining rigorous screening and vetting procedures for visa applicants.
“The Department of State is constantly evaluating its overseas operations in order to advance America’s priorities as efficiently and effectively as possible. This includes a visa process that maintains rigorous standards of security screening and vetting and aligns resources and operational capacity with America’s national interests,” the statement said.
It added that the safety and security of Americans remain the administration’s highest priority, assuring that embassies and consulates affected by the realignment will continue providing consular assistance and other diplomatic services.
The Department clarified that the policy would not affect the operational status of US embassies and consulates, nor would it invalidate visas already issued to travellers.
Other African diplomatic posts affected by the restructuring include 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.
However, routine visa services will continue at US embassies and consulates in Lagos, Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar-es-Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lomé, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia and Yaoundé.
The State Department noted that the hub-based visa processing model has already recorded success in several African countries and parts of Europe, stressing that the latest realignment is intended to improve efficiency without disrupting broader diplomatic engagements across the continent.
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