South Africa · O1

Name: U.S. visas issued to nationals of South Africa
Creator: Visa Status

Extraordinary ability · For people with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, athletics or film and television.

O1 visas issued to people from South Africa · February 2026

That is 3 fewer than in January 2026 (13) — -23.1%.

O1 visas made up 0.2% of all visas in February 2026 (compared with 0.2% in January 2026).

Quick view · February 2026

-23.1% vs January 2026 (13)+66.7% vs February 2025 (6)

All published months together: 1,232

South Africa · O1: month by month, 2026 compared with 2025

Year compared with

2025138
202623

Download CSV

Month by month

Month	2025	2026	Change
January	18	13	-27.8%
February	6	10	+66.7%
March	13	–	–
April	12	–	–
May	8	–	–
June	8	–	–
July	10	–	–
August	18	–	–
September	8	–	–
October	9	–	–
November	9	–	–
December	19	–	–

When is it busy? South Africa · O1

Busiest month: January (16.9% of a typical year). Quietest: June (4.5%). An even year would be 8.3% a month.

16.9%

7.1%

8.0%

6.2%

6.7%

4.5%

8.0%

9.3%

8.8%

7.3%

7.6%

9.6%

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Average of 8 full years (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 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 · O1: all published months

By month By year By fiscal year

Download CSV

View as table

Month	Issuances
Mar '17	6
Apr '17	11
May '17	8
Jun '17	13
Jul '17	8
Aug '17	14
Sep '17	19
Oct '17	10
Nov '17	5
Dec '17	19
Jan '18	23
Feb '18	11
Mar '18	13

South Africa · O1

South Africa · O1: month by month, 2026 compared with 2025

When is it busy? South Africa · O1

South Africa · O1: all published months

Explore South Africa by period

By month · latest 12 months

Compare months or years