- The United States Embassy in South Africa posted a clarification on 25 October 2026 about the refugee programme
- US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) notified some South African applicants that their cases are ineligible
- South Africans who applied for resettlement under the programme have voiced frustration over a lack of explanation for their rejections
Source: Getty Images
Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has spent a decade reporting on South Africa's political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online journalism.
SOUTH AFRICA — The United States Embassy in South Africa has confirmed that the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) does not approve all applications, with some South African applicants notified that their cases cannot proceed.
The embassy posted the clarification on X on 25 October 2026, responding to growing public questions about eligibility decisions.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reviews each application individually and assesses whether the applicant satisfies all requirements under US law, including security and medical screenings.
Thousands of South Africans already admitted
In the 2026 financial year, which ran from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026, 16,287 South Africans were admitted to the United States as refugees.
According to data from the Refugee Processing Center analysed by the Center for Immigration Studies, total refugee admissions for that period stood at 16,292, with the remaining five spots going to Afghan nationals. The figure represents approximately 93% of the 17,500 refugee ceiling set for that year.
These admissions followed Executive Order 14204, which prioritised Afrikaners and other racial minorities from South Africa who allegedly faced unjust racial discrimination.
Applicants demand answers on rejections
Despite the high volume of admissions, frustration among those rejected has grown considerably. Several applicants and their supporters raised pointed questions about the embassy's lack of transparency following the post.
@elanavh wrote:
"You're still not answering the question. How difficult is it? Criminal record? Illness? Too old? Etc. It's literally that easy. Why are you so vague?"
@ErnstVente89142 asked:
"Why are no reasons given for being found ineligible, and why are Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) results so heavily redacted and vague? Why was the avenue for review blocked before the first batches of Notice of Intents were released?"
@FredAmerikaner warned:
"The high rate of ineligibility decisions will be the death of the program. Why risk it if it means you will be stuck here forever?"
@RobertP16751869 added:
"As a non-applicant, I know of people who have applied and are stuck at 99%, and there has been no feedback or further action. Where can someone submit a complaint about this?"
@art03837827 said:
"All nonsense. People were rejected that met all the criteria."
@ShadowEchoX wrote:
"No matter whether you tag USCIS or USEmbassySA, they simply don't care and won't correct things. Hundreds of us were lied to and dragged along for almost a year believing that today we get our tickets, but all we got was a letter that crushed all hope and belief that we were saved."
What you need to know about claims made against South Africa
- The FW De Klerk Foundation has rubbished Donald Trump's claims about racial discrimination.
- Donald Trump deleted a tweet claiming that South Africa was a dangerous place.
- The US President offered citizenship to farmers and their families if they don’t feel safe in South Africa.
- Elon Musk claimed on X that the media weren’t reporting on the genocide in South Africa.
- Trump claimed that South Africa had a policy of exterminating people, which is why he would not attend the G20.
Trump doubles down on white genocide claim
Briefly News reported in January 2026 that Trump doubled down on comments about white genocide taking place in South Africa.
The President of the United States maintained that he saw the numbers regarding the persecution of Afrikaners in the country.
Trump made the comments after he was asked what it would take for him to believe there was no genocide taking place.
Source: Briefly News
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