US Visa Refusal Rates for South Africans
What the US State Department's published figures say about how often South African applicants are turned down for a visitor visa, and what the number does and does not mean.
A strong position, and still one in nine
South African passport holders are refused US visitor visas at 11.66%. Across Africa only Mauritius does better, and South Africans are turned down less often than applicants from Brazil (14.87%) and India (22.04%). Set against Nigeria at 57%, Ghana at 64% and Kenya at 68%, it is a genuinely strong position.
It is also roughly one application in nine. And it is about twice the rate South Africans face for a Schengen visa, which sits at 5.3%. The two figures are calculated differently and are not strictly comparable, but the gap is wide enough to be worth knowing before you assume a US visa will be as straightforward as a European one.
View as table
| Nationality | Adjusted refusal rate |
|---|---|
| Mauritius | 7.35% |
| South Africa | 11.66% |
| Seychelles | 13.22% |
| Namibia | 16.54% |
| Zimbabwe | 37.6% |
| Botswana | 38.44% |
| Egypt | 47.61% |
| Nigeria | 57% |
| Ghana | 64.34% |
| Kenya | 68.23% |
What "adjusted refusal rate" actually means
This is not refusals divided by applications. It is the State Department's own calculation, published annually to assess countries against the Visa Waiver Program, and it does two things worth understanding.
It covers B visas only — visitor visas for tourism and business. Student, work and other categories are excluded, so this tells you nothing about those. And it is adjusted: applicants initially refused who later qualified are accounted for, so the raw number of people who walked out of an interview disappointed is higher than 11.66%.
That matters for anyone citing it. It is the right figure for comparing nationalities against one another, because every nationality is measured the same way. It is the wrong figure for predicting your personal odds.
Why US visitor visas are refused
- Section 214(b), by a wide margin. US law presumes every visitor visa applicant intends to immigrate, and the burden is on you to overcome it. Most refusals are this and nothing else.
- Ties to South Africa that were not evidenced: employment, property, family, financial commitments
- Interview answers that contradict the DS-160
- An unclear or inconsistent account of who is funding the trip
- Previous refusals or immigration issues that were not declared
A 214(b) refusal is not a finding that you did anything wrong. It is a finding that you did not demonstrate enough, which is a different problem and a fixable one.
If you are refused
You can reapply immediately, with no waiting period. But you pay the fee again, and a 214(b) refusal is a judgement about what you demonstrated at interview, so nothing changes unless your evidence or your circumstances have. Reapplying with the same file and the same answers usually produces the same result.
What does change outcomes is new evidence of ties, a clearer account of the trip and its funding, and answers that match the DS-160 exactly.
Frequently asked questions
The US State Department put the adjusted refusal rate for South African nationals at 11.66% for visitor (B) visas in fiscal year 2025. That is the second lowest of the 47 African nationalities listed, behind only Mauritius.
On the published figures, yes. South African applicants face an 11.66% adjusted refusal rate for US visitor visas against a 5.3% refusal rate for Schengen visas applied for in South Africa. The measures are calculated differently, but the gap is wide enough to be meaningful.
It is the State Department's own calculation, used to assess countries for the Visa Waiver Program. It covers B visitor visas only and adjusts for applicants who were initially refused but later qualified. It is not simply refusals divided by applications, so it is not directly comparable with other countries' published rates.
The overwhelming majority are refused under section 214(b): the applicant did not overcome the legal presumption that they intend to immigrate. In practice that means the consular officer was not satisfied there were strong enough ties to South Africa, or the answers given at interview did not match the DS-160.
Yes, there is no waiting period, but you pay the fee again and nothing improves unless your circumstances or your evidence have changed. A 214(b) refusal is a judgement about what you demonstrated, so reapplying with the same file and the same answers usually produces the same outcome.
Sources and method
Figures are read directly from the US Department of State's published table, Adjusted Refusal Rate — B-Visas Only by Nationality, Fiscal Year 2025, issued by the Bureau of Consular Affairs. Rankings are our own calculation across the 198 nationalities in that table; the African comparison covers the 47 African nationalities listed. The Schengen comparison is from European Commission data.
- US Department of State — adjusted refusal rates by nationality
- GetVisa — Schengen visa refusal rates for South Africans
Figures are reproduced as published. Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite this page; if you spot an error in our reading of the data, tell us at help@getvisa.co.za and we will correct it.
Applying for a US visa?
A consultant completes the DS-160 with you, books the interview and prepares you for the questions actually asked. You get a written quote first, free and with no obligation.
Travelling to Europe as well? Our Schengen refusal-rate data covers the same ground for the Schengen Area, where South Africans are refused at 5.3%.