The United States State Department will slash the variety of visa processing embassies and consulates in Africa from almost 50 to 20 in the coming weeks, an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press has exposed.
Given Trump’s existing travel ban affecting 29 African countries, the plans were not consulted with shock among international teachers, though they condemned its shortsightedness.
“The US retreat from Africa, while not a surprise, will have significant implications for many years to come in economic, diplomatic and political spheres,” stated William Gertz, chairman of the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS).
“However maybe the best loss will be in the talent pool which this continent provides to universities and organizations who wish to internationalise.”
“Africa is lively and young, and we will miss their residents considerably,” Gertz included.
According to the dripped details, the instruction was authorized by secretary of state Marco Rubio last week and includes strategies to minimize consular operations in all but 20 “hubs” throughout the continent.
This suggests consulates in non-hub countries will have restricted services and will not be authorised to approve United States visas. People will require to take a trip to among the 20 sites, sustaining travel costs and difficulties.
While not attending to the information of the memo, a State Department representative informed The PIE News that it is “continuously assessing its overseas operations in order to deploy taxpayer resources in a way that advances America’s top priorities as effectively and successfully as possible”.
They kept that international operations continue as typical, including the department would “continue to offer Americans with appropriate consular services and support at diplomatic post all over the world”.
However as United States college faces a domestic enrolment cliff and continues to lose appeal as a worldwide research study location, critics state the strategies are yet another of example of a government “out of touch”.
Simisola Smith, West Africa associate director at Grok Global, said the development would likely intensify existing issues around visas and policy unpredictability, but that demand for US education remained “significant”.
“The encouraging point it that demand has actually not vanished,” she stated. “The issue is less about a lack of demand and more about increasing friction and reduced confidence.”
Meanwhile, NAFSA deputy executive director of public policy, Jill Allen Murray stated she was “alarmed” by the proposed reductions and “deeply concerned” about the extra barriers it would develop.
“Visa consultation accessibility, processing delays and high rejection rates were currently major challenges for gifted students from the continent,” she said, highlighting the travel restriction currently in place.
“Closing the door to African youth is especially shortsighted given a stark demographic truth: worldwide population development is expected to slow over the rest of the century all over other than Africa,” said Allen Murray.
Elsewhere, professionals have stated that as the US retreats, other destinations are buying relationships across Africa, in specific America’s rivals.
Strikingly, the China FOCAC flagship cooperation framework with the continent saw President Xi pledge 50,000 scholarships plus 50,000 training opportunities for African trainees, “dwarfing anything the US, UK, or France placed on the table”, said Dawn International creator and China professional David Weeks.
What’s more, Beijing just recently committed another 60,000 training opportunities in its 2025-2027 action plan. “So the scoreboard is quite clear”, Weeks added.
“If you’re a leading physics trainee in Zambia today, the US won’t give you a visa. China will provide you a scholarship.”
The move becomes part of the Trump administration’s continuous migration crackdown, which has seen considerable staffing reductions at worldwide consulates and enhanced vetting steps, resulting in getting worse delays in US visa processing.
According to federal data updated last month, students requesting a visa interview in Accra, Ghana, or Dar-Es-Salaam, Senegal, should wait 2.5 and 4 months respectively for an appointment.
While both of these consulates are apparently among the 20 centers to stay open, Senegal is currently subject to partial limitations under America’s expanded travel restriction, barring Senegalese students from entering the United States.
If you’re a top physics trainee in Zambia right now, the US will not provide you a visa. China will give you a scholarship.
David Weeks, Daybreak International
Deby Okoh, Africa regional manager at Brunel University in the UK, said that African trainees’ “trust erosion” in the US had actually grown over current years due to visa hold-ups, immigration rhetoric and availability concerns, which reconstructing self-confidence in the destination would take some time.
While the UK is facing its own migration policy challenges, Okoh stated UK organizations “continue to invest actively across Africa through partnerships, recruitment activities, scholarships and regional engagement”.
“Compared to the United States, the UK currently appears more visibly engaged within the region and more student centric (though that’s arguable),” she stated.
Smith repeated the requirement for US organizations to keep strong African engagement, especially with moms and dads and counsellors who play a large role in student choice making. She highlighted to the truth the UK’s engagement in Africa remains “tangible and active” throughout market unpredictability.
What’s more, experts emphasised the diversity across the continent which shouldn’t be deemed a single market.
On the other hand in the US, a coalition of sector bodies have advised the State Department to exempt international students from Trump’s travel ban — at first implemented in June 2025 and broadened later that year to consist of 40 nations and territories.
Significantly, the broadened restriction includes Nigeria, America’s eighth biggest associate of worldwide trainees, with Open Doors information exposing more than 21,000 Nigerian trainees at US colleges in 2024/25.
According to the current memo, the 20 hubs to remain open for all processing are: Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Accra, Ghana; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cape Town, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal; Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania; Djibouti, Djibouti; Johannesburg, South Africa; Kampala, Uganda; Kigali, Rwanda; Kinshasa, Congo; 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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