US to reduce number of African diplomatic missions providing visa services
Kyiv • UNN
The Trump administration will reduce the number of diplomatic missions in Africa providing visa services to 20. The changes will take effect in June following a decision by Marco Rubio.
The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to significantly reduce the number of American embassies and consulates in Africa that will accept and process visa applications. This was reported by the Associated Press, according to UNN.
Details
According to the agency, the number of diplomatic missions with full visa services could be reduced from nearly 50 to 20. The changes are expected to take effect as early as June. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the corresponding directive last week.
The decision is part of a broader White House policy to strengthen immigration control and reduce instances of visa regime violations. In parallel, the Trump administration is also reducing the staff of American diplomatic missions abroad.
Visa travel could become more difficult
Under the new rules, citizens of many African countries will have to apply to one of 20 designated regional centers to obtain a US visa. This could significantly increase costs and complicate the documentation process.
At the same time, consular sections in countries that lose the right to issue visas will continue to operate. They will provide assistance to US citizens, handle passport renewals, emergency consular issues, and certain categories of diplomatic visas.