The United States is closing its visa services in Durban; South Africans who require a visa to visit the United States will need to travel to Cape Town or Johannesburg to apply.
The US Department of State announced that it is realigning visa operations in Africa, transitioning to regional hubs as part of a long-standing initiative to enhance national security.
This approach seeks to ensure consistent standards in screening, vetting, and adjudication processes, as well as to improve operational efficiency.
The US Embassy said that the implementation of visa services at designated hubs has already yielded positive outcomes in various African countries and in Europe.
The Embassy announced that the recent changes to routine visa processing do not affect the operational status of any embassies or consulates.
They also said that the changes do not diminish the work these institutions continue to do for the American public. All routine visa services remain available, including both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas.
This encompasses tourist and business-related nonimmigrant visas, as well as petition-based nonimmigrant visas.
The immigrant visa services that are being realigned include immediate relative (IR), family preference (FP), and employment-based (EB) categories, as well as fiancée/fiancé (K) visas, adoption cases, Diversity Visas, and follow-to-join asylee and refugee (V92/V93) cases.
Applicants can complete their medical exam either in their home country, if a panel physician is available there, or at their designated processing hub.
Effective August 1, 2026, routine visa services at the following locations will be consolidated into a regional visa hub read more: source….https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/867737/united-states-cuts-off-major-south-african-province-from-visa-applications/
