Big Win for Kenya as US Retains Nairobi as Regional Visa Processing Centre

Kenya will remain one of Africa’s main centres for United States visa processing under a new regional system that takes effect on Saturday, 1 August. 

The US Embassy in Nairobi will continue handling both immigrant and non-immigrant visa applications, including those from several neighbouring countries.

The US Department of State announced the changes on Friday as part of a restructuring of consular operations across Africa. 

The new system consolidates routine visa services at selected regional hubs to improve efficiency, strengthen security procedures and ensure greater consistency in visa screening and decision-making. The department said the changes reflect a long-standing approach to organising visa services in line with evolving immigration priorities while reducing duplication across diplomatic missions.

Under the new framework, the US Embassy in Nairobi will continue processing both immigrant and non-immigrant visas, reinforcing Kenya’s role in regional travel and diplomacy. Other designated processing hubs include missions 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. 

These missions will now handle applications from neighbouring countries where routine visa services have ended. More than 20 US diplomatic missions across Africa, including those in Abuja, Antananarivo, Bamako, Banjul, Brazzaville, Bujumbura, Conakry, Durban, Freetown, Harare, Juba, Lusaka and Maputo, will no longer process visas. 

Applicants from those countries will instead be required to submit their applications at the designated regional hub. In Nigeria, visa applicants will now be directed to the US Consulate in Lagos, which becomes the country’s only visa processing centre.

The State Department said existing visas remain valid despite the changes. Embassies and consulates that no longer provide visa services will continue offering American Citizen Services and carrying out their other diplomatic responsibilities.

The restructuring was first announced on 15 July and forms part of President Donald Trump’s wider policy to strengthen national security, reduce government spending and streamline overseas operations.