President Donald Trump’s administration’s reported plan to sharply reduce visa-processing services across Africa would affect thousands of would-be green card lottery winners and relatives of U.S. citizens, Newsweek analysis shows.

The U.S. State Department is preparing to cut the number of U.S. embassies and consulates in Africa that process visas from nearly 50 to 20 regional hubs, according to The Associated Press (AP), which cited a leaked memo and anonymous officials.

A State Department official would not confirm the move directly with Newsweek last week, saying that the department was constantly evaluating overseas operations, including "a visa process that maintains rigorous standards of security screening and vetting." Newsweek contacted the State Department again for comment, via email, on Monday.

Newsweek analyzed the latest available State Department immigrant visa data (July 2025-September 2025) to identify which countries and applicants would be most affected if visa processing is moved away from the posts in Africa that Newsweek understands would lose consular visa processing – mapped out in detail here.

Egypt stood out as the country with the most visas at stake, while relatives of U.S. citizens made up the largest affected group after Diversity Visa applicants.

The Countries With the Most Visas at Stake

Cairo, in Egypt, processed by far the most immigrant visas among the affected posts, issuing 1,995 between July and September 2025. Algiers, in Algeria, followed with 867, Casablanca, in Morocco, with 752, Cotonou, in Benin, with 365, and Tunis, in Tunisia, with 194.

The State Department has not publicly issued detailed replacement-post guidance specific to the reported Africa plan, but its general guidance says immigrant visa applicants in countries where routine visa operations are suspended or paused should apply at their designated immigrant visa processing post.

• Cairo’s nearest remaining hub would be Djibouti, roughly 1,486 miles away.
• Algiers and Casablanca would be closest to Dakar, about 1,979 miles and 1,443 miles away, respectively.
• Cotonou would be closest to Lagos, about 66 miles away.
• Tunis would be closest to Lagos, about 2,136 miles away.

Who Would Face the Biggest Barriers?

Diversity Visas

Across all affected posts, Diversity Visas (DV) were the most common category, accounting for 2,165 of the 4,778 total issuances.

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, otherwise known as the green card lottery, has long been one of the few paths to permanent U.S. residency that does not require family ties or employer sponsorship.

Trump’s administration has been making changes to the program to tighten screening and reduce fraud.

Visas For Families of US Citizens

Second was the IR1 visa, for the spouse of a U.S. citizen, with 674 issued in total in the same period, followed by the IR5 visa issued to a parent of a U.S. citizen (417), the F4 visa for the brother or sister of a U.S. citizen (334), and the IR2 visa for the unmarried child under 21 of a U.S. citizen (334).

The Context: Trump's Crackdown on Immigration

Trump has made a crackdown on immigration a hallmark of his presidency. This change would be the latest cutback on pathways for immigrants seeking to head to the United States, which has included travel bans affecting many African and Asian countries.

The administration has framed the measures as necessary for national security and fraud prevention, while critics have warned that they risk creating new barriers for people using legal routes to the U.S.

The reported shift in Africa would not stop immigrant visas from being issued altogether, but it could make the process more difficult for applicants in countries losing routine visa services.

Methodology

Newsweek previously identified the affected African posts by using the AP’s list of 20 visa-processing hubs reported in its previous analysis and comparing it with current Department of State information on the U.S. diplomatic footprint in Africa.

For this analysis, Newsweek examined State Department immigrant visa issuance data by post and visa class for July 2025, August 2025, and September 2025, the latest three months available.

After filtering the data for the posts in countries identified as losing routine visa processing, Newsweek totaled immigrant visa issuances by post and visa class across the three-month period.