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Country
South Africa
How many U.S. visas were issued to people from South Africa, and how that changed.
We update interview appointment wait time information monthly. Average wait times do not guarantee the availability of an appointment.
Green card priority dates, updated monthly by the State Department. For this country the column is: All other countries.
That is 732 more than in January 2026 (5,291) — +13.8%.
All published months together: 293,406
Compare months or years
- Dec 20253,232
- Jan 20265,291
- Feb 20266,023
- Jan 2026 is 2,059 (63.7%) higher than Dec 2025.
- Feb 2026 is 2,791 (86.4%) higher than Dec 2025.
View as table
| Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 | Feb 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total issued | 3,232 | 5,291 | 6,023 |
| Total | 3,232 | 5,291 | 6,023 |
Which visa groups changed? February 2026 compared with January 2026
Visa types gathered by purpose: students, workers, visitors and more.
| Visa group | February 2026 | January 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary workers | 3,397 | 1,994 | +70.4%+1,403 |
| Visitors | 1,946 | 2,621 | -25.8%−675 |
| Transit and crew | 393 | 354 | +11.0%+39 |
| Exchange visitors | 188 | 213 | -11.7%−25 |
| Diplomats and international organizations | 71 | 30 | +136.7%+41 |
| Students | 21 | 76 | -72.4%−55 |
| Fiancé(e)s and their children | 4 | 1 | +300.0%+3 |
| Other | 3 | 2 | +50.0%+1 |
Which visa types changed? February 2026 compared with January 2026
Tap a visa type to see only that one.
| Visa type | February 2026 | January 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| H2A | 3,026 | 1,685 | +79.6%+1,341 |
| B1/B2 | 1,896 | 2,542 | -25.4%−646 |
| C1/D | 392 | 348 | +12.6%+44 |
| J1 | 188 | 207 | -9.2%−19 |
| H4 | 123 | 72 | +70.8%+51 |
| H2B | 80 | 57 | +40.4%+23 |
| L1 | 56 | 59 | -5.1%−3 |
| B1 | 50 | 77 | -35.1%−27 |
| L2 | 47 | 50 | -6.0%−3 |
| A2 | 38 | 8 | +375.0%+30 |
| F1 | 20 | 73 | -72.6%−53 |
| P1 | 16 | 11 | +45.5%+5 |
| G2 | 16 | 5 | +220.0%+11 |
| O2 | 14 | 15 | -6.7%−1 |
| H1B | 14 | 14 | +0.0%+0 |
| O1 | 10 | 13 | -23.1%−3 |
| G4 | 8 | 5 | +60.0%+3 |
| G1 | 7 | 12 | -41.7%−5 |
| R1 | 4 | 4 | +0.0%+0 |
| K1 | 4 | 1 | +300.0%+3 |
| I | 3 | 2 | +50.0%+1 |
| R2 | 2 | 2 | +0.0%+0 |
| O3 | 1 | 9 | -88.9%−8 |
| C1 | 1 | 4 | -75.0%−3 |
| M1 | 1 | 2 | -50.0%−1 |
| H3 | 1 | 1 | +0.0%+0 |
| A1 | 1 | 0 | new+1 |
| A3 | 1 | 0 | new+1 |
| E2 | 1 | 0 | new+1 |
| E3D | 1 | 0 | new+1 |
| Q1 | 1 | 0 | new+1 |
| J2 | 0 | 6 | -100.0%−6 |
| B2 | 0 | 2 | -100.0%−2 |
| C3 | 0 | 2 | -100.0%−2 |
| E3 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%−1 |
| F2 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%−1 |
| P4 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%−1 |
South Africa: month by month, 2026 compared with 2025
- 202562,647
- 202611,314
Month by month
| Month | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6,376 | 5,291 | -17.0% |
| February | 8,428 | 6,023 | -28.5% |
| March | 9,911 | – | – |
| April | 6,395 | – | – |
| May | 4,788 | – | – |
| June | 3,277 | – | – |
| July | 4,005 | – | – |
| August | 3,970 | – | – |
| September | 4,308 | – | – |
| October | 4,800 | – | – |
| November | 3,157 | – | – |
| December | 3,232 | – | – |
When is it busy? South Africa
Busiest month: March (13.0% of a typical year). Quietest: December (5.0%). An even year would be 8.3% a month.
Average of 4 full years (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025). Each bar is that month's share of the year's total. Years with missing months are left out. It shows when visas are issued, not when people apply.
South Africa: all published months
“partial” means fewer than 12 months have been published for that period.
View as table
| Year | Issuances |
|---|---|
| 2021 partial | 4,483 |
| 2022 | 62,345 |
| 2023 | 77,656 |
| 2024 | 74,961 |
| 2025 | 62,647 |
| 2026 partial | 11,314 |