This is an automatically generated report on immigration from South Africa to the United States of America using data from the US State Department and the US Department of Homeland Security.
For Fiscal Year 2021 there were 13,089 nonimmigrant visas issued for South Africa, compared to a global average of 13,960 nonimmigrant visas issued per country. This represents a -63% change from the previous fiscal year.
| Visa | FY 2021 | FY2020 | % Change | FY2016 | 2021-2016 % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary agricultural worker (H2A) | 6,897 | 5,508 | 25.2% | 2,335 | 195.4% |
| Student (F1) | 1,326 | 531 | 149.7% | 894 | 48.3% |
| Exchange Visitor (J1) | 983 | 1,916 | -48.7% | 2,353 | -58.2% |
| Business visitor or tourist (B1/B2) | 981 | 22,616 | -95.7% | 45,240 | -97.8% |
| Transiting the United States (C1/D) | 870 | 1,274 | -31.7% | 2,990 | -70.9% |
| Temporary worker performing other services or labor of a temporary or seasonal nature (H2B) | 447 | 1,346 | -66.8% | 1,977 | -77.4% |
| Business visitor or domestic employee (B1) | 305 | 199 | 53.3% | 547 | -44.2% |
| Intra-company transferee (L2) | 242 | 446 | -45.7% | 718 | -66.3% |
| Intra-company transferee (L1) | 163 | 499 | -67.3% | 833 | -80.4% |
| Employee of a designated international organization or NATO (G4) | 109 | 132 | -17.4% | 208 | -47.6% |
From 2022-07-01 to 2021-08-01 there were 1,220 immigrant visas issued for South Africa compared to a global average of 2,409 immigrant visas per country over the same time period.
| Visa | Total Visas Issued |
|---|---|
| Professionals and Other Workers (E3) | 224 |
| Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) | 193 |
| Parents of US Citizen (IR5) | 165 |
| Professionals and Other Workers (EW) | 106 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1) | 85 |
| Priority Workers (E1) | 64 |
| Siblings of US citizens and/or their children and spouses (F4) | 53 |
| Family of Lawful Permanent Resident (FX) | 53 |
| Unmarried children of IR1 Visa Holders (IR2) | 48 |
| Married children of US citizens and their spouses and their children (F3) | 43 |
For Fiscal Year 2020, 2,733 people from South Africa were granted permanent residence in the US, also known as a “green card”.
| Admission Class | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Employment-based preferences | 1,370 |
| Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens | 1,075 |
| Family-sponsored preferences | 111 |
| Diversity | 92 |
| Refugees and asylees | 82 |
| Other | 3 |
| US State | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| California | 334 |
| Texas | 309 |
| Florida | 225 |
| New York | 180 |
| Washington | 135 |
| Georgia | 131 |
| North Carolina | 105 |
| Illinois | 82 |
| Virginia | 81 |
| Ohio | 67 |
| Metro Area | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 206 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 121 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 121 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 114 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 110 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | 105 |
| Non-CBSA | 103 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 102 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 92 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | 78 |
Moving on the refugees and asylees (asylum seekers), in FY 2020 there were new refugee arrivals and NA new asylees. The primary difference between refugees and asylees is that refugees are not currently in the US while asylees are either already in the US or at a point of entry. Among asylees, 6 were affirmative asylees, who had proactively applied for asylum, and D were defensive asylees, meaning they are currently in removal proceedings in an immigration court.
Sometimes immigrants, legal or otherwise, must be removed from their host country. In FY 2020, 304 people from South Africa were determined inadmissible, meaning they were not approved to enter the US. A further 43 were apprehended within the US on suspicion of being there illegally, of which 8 were removed for non-criminal charges and 31 were removed on criminal charges, with the remainder either released on still awaiting a final decision.