Ghana will keep full US visa processing in Accra under a plan to cut Africa’s US visa centres from about 50 to 20, the Associated Press reports.
The Associated Press (AP), citing an internal State Department memo and three US officials, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the directive last week and that the change is expected within weeks, although no firm date has been set. The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to discuss the plan.
AP reported that the cut forms part of the Trump administration’s wider effort to tighten visa issuance and limit immigration, including a focus on travellers who overstay temporary visas. It would be one of the biggest changes to US consular operations in Africa in years.
Accra is one of 20 hubs that will keep full visa processing, spread across 19 African countries. The others named in the memo are Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Cape Town and Johannesburg, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lomé, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia and Yaoundé.
Embassies and consulates in countries left off the list will stay open but stop handling most visa applications, according to AP. Applicants in those countries would have to travel to a hub for interviews and biometric appointments, which analysts warn could mean higher costs and longer journeys. The non-hub posts would still help US citizens with passports and emergencies and handle diplomatic visas.
For Ghana, the designation strengthens Accra’s standing as a regional gateway and could draw applicants from neighbouring countries. The United States restricted visas for Ghanaians last year before easing them, and AP noted that visa access across Africa has also been affected by a travel ban on some countries, a bond requirement of up to $15,000 for certain applicants, and recent limits tied to the Ebola outbreak.
