US Visa Services in Africa to Be Cut Back to 20 Processing Hubs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The US State Department is preparing a major reduction in the number of American diplomatic posts in Africa that handle visa applications for people hoping to enter the United States.

Nearly 50 US embassies and consulates on the continent now process visas, but that network is expected to be cut to 20 sites in the coming weeks, three US officials said. An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press outlines the plan. No firm start date has been fixed, though the officials said the change is anticipated in June. They spoke anonymously because they were not cleared to discuss the matter publicly.

The step fits into the Trump administration’s wider push to tighten the handling of immigrant and non-immigrant visas. That agenda is tied to efforts to restrict migration to the US and to target people who enter on temporary visas but remain after their permission expires.

The administration has also reduced staffing at American embassies and consulates in several parts of the world.

One official who joined a conference call last Friday said US diplomats, among them consular leaders, were informed that visa services across Africa would be reduced.

Under guidance signed off by Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week, full consular visa work will continue only at 20 African “hubs”, according to the memo and the officials.

Visa services in Africa have already faced pressure from a travel ban affecting some countries, a rule requiring certain applicants to provide bonds of up to US$15,000, and, more recently, limits linked to the Ebola outbreak.

For nationals of countries without a hub, the new arrangement would require travel to one of the approved locations. That could bring significant expense and difficult journeys for applicants.

Consular offices outside the hub countries are not being shut, but their duties will be narrowed. They will continue handling passport renewals and emergency consular help for US citizens, along with special national-interest matters and diplomatic visa requests.

The State Department did not respond directly to the memo’s details. It said it “is constantly evaluating its overseas operations in order to deploy taxpayer resources in a way that advances America’s priorities as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

The department added that this work 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 memo names the 20 full-processing hubs as 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; and Yaounde, Cameroon.