4 West African countries including Ghana retain visa processing services as US shuts 30 centres in Africa

• Ghana is among 19 African countries that will retain U.S. visa-processing services under a major State Department restructuring plan.

• The U.S. plans to reduce visa-processing locations in Africa from nearly 50 to 20 regional hubs, according to the Associated Press.

• Applicants from countries losing local services may have to travel to centres such as Accra, Lagos and Dakar for visa interviews and processing.

Ghana is among a select group of African countries that will continue processing U.S. visa applications under a major restructuring plan that will see Washington reduce visa-processing locations across the continent from nearly 50 to just 20.

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According to an internal U.S. State Department memo obtained by the Associated Press (AP), the Trump administration plans to consolidate visa services into designated regional hubs, with Accra retaining its status as one of the key centres for visa processing in Africa.

Under the new arrangement, Ghana joins countries including Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, South Africa and Ethiopia in hosting visa-processing centres that will serve not only local applicants but also travellers from neighbouring countries that lose direct access to U.S. visa services.

The selected locations include Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Accra, Ghana; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cape Town, Johannesburg, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal; Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania; Djibouti, Djibouti; Kampala, Uganda; Kigali, Rwanda; Kinshasa, Congo.

Others include Lagos, Nigeria; Lome, Togo; Luanda, Angola; Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; Monrovia, Liberia; Nairobi, Kenya; Port Louis, Mauritius; Praia, Cape Verde; and Yaounde, Cameroon.

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South Africa will host two centres, in Johannesburg and Cape Town, bringing the total number of processing hubs to 20.

The restructuring means applicants from countries that no longer process visas locally may have to travel to designated hubs such as Accra or Lagos for interviews, biometric appointments and other consular procedures.

For Ghana, the decision reinforces Accra's growing importance as a diplomatic and travel gateway in West Africa. The city already hosts one of the busiest U.S. diplomatic missions in the region and is expected to handle additional visa demand if the proposal is fully implemented.

The initiative is an overhaul of U.S. diplomatic and immigration operations under President Donald Trump. Services may face additional transport costs, accommodation expenses and longer waiting periods before securing appointments.

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The changes come at a time when demand for U.S. visas remains high across the continent, driven by tourism, education, business travel and family reunification.

Reuters has previously reported that U.S. authorities have been reviewing visa operations globally as part of efforts to tighten immigration controls and address concerns over visa overstays.

The restructuring is also expected to have implications ahead of major international events in the United States, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the U.S. is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico and is expected to attract thousands of African visitors.