Kenya has retained its status as one of the United States’ designated regional visa processing hubs in Africa, even as Washington moved to shut down routine visa services at more than 20 of its diplomatic missions across the continent from Saturday, August 1.
The changes form part of an extensive restructuring of American consular operations, with the US Department of State confirming that the US Embassy in Nairobi will continue offering both immigrant and non-immigrant visa services, placing Kenya among a select group of countries handling applications drawn from across the region.
Other missions retaining full visa processing include those in Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lomé, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Port Louis, Praia, Yaoundé and Abidjan.
Missions losing routine visa processing include those in Abuja, 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. Applicants in those countries will now have to travel to designated regional hubs to complete their applications.
Explaining the rationale for the reorganisation, the State Department said the move was intended to harmonise vetting standards and cut costs across its African missions.
“The Department of State is realigning visa operations in Africa to regional hubs as part of a long-standing practice that strengthens national security by promoting more uniform screening, vetting, and adjudication standards, as well as improving efficiency and adjusting to shifting U.S. immigration policy priorities and objectives,” the department said.
Officials clarified that the changes affect only routine visa processing and do not extend to the broader operations of the affected embassies and consulates, which will continue offering American Citizen Services and other diplomatic functions. Visas already issued at the affected missions remain valid and unaffected by the new arrangement.
For Kenyan applicants, the retention of Nairobi’s processing status means no disruption to existing appointment schedules or interview procedures at the Gigiri-based embassy, even as neighbouring countries adjust to the new hub system.
The restructuring, first announced on July 15, is described as one of the most significant reorganisations of US consular operations in Africa in recent years and is linked to the wider immigration and national security agenda of the Trump administration, including existing visa suspensions and bond requirements for certain categories of travellers.
