12 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL TALKING POINTS Visa Processing in Africa Reduced to 20 Hubs Effective August 1, the State Department ended routine visa services at 25 diplomatic posts across Africa, shifting nonimmigrant and immigrant visa processing to 20 designated regional hubs. The department said no embassies or consulates are closing as a result of the realignment, and that American citizen services (ACS) will continue at all affected posts. Applicants who had scheduled appointments at posts losing routine services were directed to rebook at their designated hub before July 31 or forfeit any visa fees already paid. Existing valid visas are unaffected by the change. Plans for Mass Visa Revocation In late August, the State Department announced it was preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum in the United States, according to Associated Press reporting. If carried out, it would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in U.S. history, and it would likely draw legal challenges. The department would target B-1 and B-2 visas, generally issued for business trips, tourism, family visits, or medical care, issued between 2016 and 2026 to holders who have sought or are now seeking asylum. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the department is “coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently.” In a statement to the BBC, Pigott added that obtaining a visa “in order to seek asylum is fraud,” which he said is grounds for revocation. On social media, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau cited the case of a Colombian national who entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2015 and later applied for asylum; the same case has separately drawn attention because that applicant, an activist who opposed a Trump-backed candidate in Colombia’s election, was deported in July. Officials said the revocations would not necessarily trigger immediate deportation; most pending asylum cases would instead be recategorized, with holders losing their status as business or tourism travelers. Applicants for B-1 and B-2 visas are asked to affirm that they do not intend to seek asylum and plan to return to their home countries. According to State Department data cited by the BBC, Brazil received more than 1.1 million B-1 and B-2 visas in 2024, the most of any country, followed by mainland China, India, and Pakistan. Just over 32,300 were issued to visitors from the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland that year. The move follows a series of legal setbacks for the administration’s broader The Deep End State By Brian Aggeler
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