US Visa Services Leave 25 African Posts: Where to Apply Now, and the New Residence Rule

For many travellers in Africa, applying for a United States visa now involves a journey to another city, and in many cases another country, before the application has even been assessed.

On 1 August 2026, 25 US embassies and consulates across the continent stopped offering routine visa services. Applicants who would previously have attended their nearest post are now directed to one of 20 regional hubs.

What changed
The State Department announced the realignment on 15 July 2026. Routine non-immigrant visa services, including the B1 and B2 visitor visas used for business and tourism, ended at the affected posts on 1 August.

The posts that stopped include embassies in national capitals, not only smaller consulates. Abuja, Antananarivo, Gaborone, Windhoek, Harare, Lusaka and Maputo are among them, as is the consulate in Durban.

The hubs that now carry the work include Lagos, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, Accra, Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam.

What it means in practice
A Nigerian applicant in Abuja now applies in Lagos. A South African applicant in Durban now applies in Johannesburg or Cape Town. For applicants in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Madagascar, the nearest hub may be in another country entirely.

That turns an appointment into a trip. Applicants need to travel to the hub for the interview, and often need to be there more than once, because biometrics and the interview are not always on the same day. Where the hub is abroad, the applicant may need permission to enter that country before they can apply to enter the United States.

The time cost is the part travellers underestimate. A visa that once needed a morning off work can now need several days, plus travel booked around an appointment date that can move.

Visas already issued are not affected
The State Department is explicit on this point. A valid US visa remains valid. The change applies to new applications and renewals, not to visas already in passports.

Travellers who hold a visa that is approaching expiry should note, though, that renewing it now means going to a hub.

The second rule: apply where you live
On the same day, the State Department published a separate instruction with wider reach. Applicants for non-immigrant visas are expected to apply in their country of nationality or their country of residence. Those who apply elsewhere should expect significantly longer waits.

This closes a common workaround. Applicants facing long queues at home have for years booked appointments in neighbouring countries, or wherever the wait was shortest. The State Department has not banned the practice outright, but it has made clear it will no longer be a fast lane.

Combined with the hub model, the two rules pull in opposite directions for some applicants. Someone whose home post has closed must go to a hub. If that hub is in another country, it is the designated location for their application, not a shortcut.

Interviews are now the norm
This change lands on top of the narrowing of interview waivers. Almost every US visa applicant must now attend in person, including children and older applicants who used to be exempt. Fewer posts and more interviews mean more pressure on the hubs that remain.

Who is most affected
Business travellers who used to renew close to home. Families, because every member needs to attend. Students and exchange visitors, whose start dates are fixed. And anyone whose nearest hub is across a border, because the trip itself now carries its own entry requirements.

What to do
Check whether your local post is one of the 25 that stopped routine services before you plan anything. If it is, identify your designated hub and the entry rules for getting there.

Start much earlier than you would have done last year. Build the appointment date, the travel to the hub, and a possible second visit into the plan.

If you hold a valid US visa, check its expiry date now. Renewal is no longer a local errand.

Verified against the US Department of State notices of 15 July 2026 on the realignment of visa services in Africa and on applying in the country of residence, checked 1 October 2026.