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  1. US Visa Statistics
  2. South Africa

Official US State Department data

US visa statistics for South Africa

How many US visas nationals of South Africa are issued, and for what, plus what the US consulates in South Africa issue.

Data through February 2026

Visas issued to nationals of South Africa, last 12 months

Mar 2025 – Feb 2026

59,15759,157

Down 20%vs 73,844 in the 12 months before

Down 20% on the previous 12 months.

Monthly average
4.9k
Busiest month
9.9k
Mar 2025
Latest month
6k
Feb 2026Down 29%

Prev 12 moPrevious 12 months · 74k

Last 12 moLast 12 months · 59k

02.5k5k7.5k10k13k
Mar '24Apr '24May '24Jun '24Jul '24Aug '24Sep '24Oct '24Nov '24Dec '24Jan '25Feb '25Mar '25Apr '25May '25Jun '25Jul '25Aug '25Sep '25Oct '25Nov '25Dec '25Jan '26Feb '26

What the visas are for

Visas issued to nationals of South Africa by visa type. The last 12 months in orange, the 12 before in grey; each chart has its own scale.

  • B1/B2

    Business and tourist visitors

    Down 33%

    30k

    50% of the total, last 12 months

    29,673 visas in the last 12 months, 43,970 in the 12 months before

  • H-2A

    Seasonal farm workers

    Up 6.7%

    15k

    25% of the total, last 12 months

    14,962 visas in the last 12 months, 14,026 in the 12 months before

  • C-1/D

    Airline and ship crews

    Down 13%

    3.9k

    6.6% of the total, last 12 months

    3,899 visas in the last 12 months, 4,479 in the 12 months before

  • J-1

    Exchange visitors

    Down 17%

    2.7k

    4.6% of the total, last 12 months

    2,736 visas in the last 12 months, 3,291 in the 12 months before

  • H-2B

    Seasonal non-farm workers

    Down 7.3%

    2.2k

    3.8% of the total, last 12 months

    2,236 visas in the last 12 months, 2,412 in the 12 months before

  • F-1

    Academic students

    Down 21%

    1.1k

    1.8% of the total, last 12 months

    1,059 visas in the last 12 months, 1,348 in the 12 months before

Other visa types

Last 12 monthsThe 12 months before
  • H-41.7% of total

    Spouses and children of H workers

    1kUp 28%
    1,017 visas in the last 12 months, 794 in the 12 months before
  • L-11% of total

    Intracompany transferees

    611About flat, 0.8%
    611 visas in the last 12 months, 606 in the 12 months before
  • L-21% of total

    Spouses and children of L-1 transferees

    580Down 14%
    580 visas in the last 12 months, 671 in the 12 months before
  • B-10.9% of total

    Business visitors

    528Up 164%
    528 visas in the last 12 months, 200 in the 12 months before
  • A-20.4% of total

    Foreign government officials

    239Down 15%
    239 visas in the last 12 months, 282 in the 12 months before
  • G-20.4% of total

    Government representatives to international organizations

    215Up 78%
    215 visas in the last 12 months, 121 in the 12 months before

B1/B2 visas made up 50% of the visas issued to nationals of South Africa in the last 12 months. B1/B2 fell 33% and C-1/D fell 13% on the 12 months before.

US consulates in South Africa

Every visa each consulate issued, to any nationality, in the last 12 months against the 12 months before.

Last 12 monthsThe 12 months before
  • Johannesburg49% of the country
    29kDown 26%
    29,183 visas in the last 12 months, 39,211 in the 12 months before
  • Cape Town35% of the country
    21kDown 21%
    21,101 visas in the last 12 months, 26,700 in the 12 months before
  • Durban16% of the country
    9.3kDown 11%
    9,346 visas in the last 12 months, 10,536 in the 12 months before

Johannesburg issues the most: 49% of the total. Johannesburg issued 26% fewer.

Together they issued 59,630 visas in the last 12 months. That differs from the total to nationals of South Africa above, which also counts nationals who applied in other countries and leaves out other nationalities who applied here.

When visas are issued

Visas issued to nationals of South Africa each month. Darker means more.

JJanFFebMMarAAprMMayJJunJJulAAugSSepOOctNNovDDec
2023
2024
2025
2026
Typical
14%
4.7%

Typical: each month's share of a year's visas, averaged over 2024–2025.

Busiest: March 2023: 11,063 visas

FewerMoreNo data

In 2024–2025, March was typically the busiest month and December the quietest.

Year by year

Calendar years, January to December.

  1. 2024

    75k

    Jan – Dec 2024

    First full year in this data
  2. 2025

    63k

    Jan – Dec 2025

    Down 16%vs 2024
  3. 2026So far

    11k

    Jan–Feb · 2 of 12 months

    Down 24%vs same months a year earlier

2025 had 62,647 visas (−16% on 2024). 2026 so far (Jan–Feb) is running 24% behind the same months of 2025.

Show the monthly numbers
Visas issued per month, to nationals of South Africa
MonthVisas issuedA year earlierChange
February 20266,0238,428Down 29%
January 20265,2916,376Down 17%
December 20253,2323,135Up 3.1%
November 20253,1573,813Down 17%
October 20254,8005,223Down 8.1%
September 20254,3085,888Down 27%
August 20253,9706,298Down 37%
July 20254,0057,113Down 44%
June 20253,2775,357Down 39%
May 20254,7885,470Down 12%
April 20256,3957,758Down 18%
March 20259,9118,985Up 10%
February 20258,4289,569Down 12%
January 20256,3766,352About flat, 0.4%
December 20243,1353,492Down 10%
November 20243,8134,746Down 20%
October 20245,2235,365About flat, 2.6%
September 20245,8886,334Down 7%
August 20246,2986,880Down 8.5%
July 20247,1136,255Up 14%
June 20245,3575,957Down 10%
May 20245,4707,211Down 24%
April 20247,7586,746Up 15%
March 20248,98511,063Down 19%

Look up a visa type for South Africa

Monthly trend, each consulate's numbers, the busiest months and the long view.

  • H-1B
  • H-4
  • F-1
  • F-2
  • B1/B2
  • J-1
  • J-2
  • L-1
  • L-2
  • M-1

About these numbers

Visas issued, not appointments
Every number here is a visa the US State Department issued. It shows demand and how much the consulates process, not how many interview slots are open.
By nationality or by consulate
“Issued to nationals of India” counts Indian citizens wherever they applied. “Issued in India” counts what the US consulates in India issued, to anyone. The two differ, so each number says which one it is.
Last 12 months
The 12 months up to the latest month State Dept has published, compared with the 12 months before. Monthly reports arrive a few months late. Calendar years run January to December.

Source: US Department of State.Monthly nonimmigrant visa issuancesNonimmigrant visa statisticsFY2019 reporting methodologyCheck Visa Slots isn't affiliated with the US government.