Department of State Releases 2019 Visa Refusal Statistics – and They Ain’t Pretty

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Visa refusals continue to skyrocket under the Trump Administration – and it doesn’t seem to matter whether the applicants are from countries considered “friends” or “foes” of the United States.  While the refusal rates for some countries, such as Vietnam, Philippines and Pakistan, have remained relatively stable, other countries have seen a significant jump.  Brazil, Nigeria, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and China have each seen increases of more than 25% over the past two years, with India and Mexico not far behind.  Below are the visa refusal statistics for B visas for fiscal years 2017-2019. Country % of B Visa Applicants Refused in FY-2017 % of B Visa Applicants Refused in FY-2018 % of B Visa Applicants Refused in FY-2019 % Increase from FY-2017 to FY-2019 Brazil 12.34 12.73 18.48 49.75 China 14.57 17 18.22 25.05 India 23.29 26.07 27.75 19.14 Mexico 22.5 24.93 26.66 18.48 Nigeria 44.95 57.47 67.20 49.49…

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Visa Trends – Higher Refusal Rates in 2015

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The Department of State recently published its 2015 refusal statistics for B visas.  Several countries exceed the 60% mark: Syria, Gambia, Federated States of Micronesia, Mauritania, Liberia, Laos, Haiti, Somalia, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Cuba, and Afghanistan.  Among the most populous countries, the refusal rates greatly vary: China – 10.03%; India – 23.78%; Indonesia – 8.71%; Bangladesh – 59.96%; Pakistan – 40.4%; Nigeria – 32.56%; Russia – 10.24%; Philippines – 27.96%; Turkey – 13.88%; and Ukraine – 34.03%. These 2015 refusal rates represent an increase over 2014 for most of these populous countries: for example, the refusal rate for India jumped nearly 4%; in Turkey – more than 6%; in Ukraine – more than 6%; the Philippines – more than 3%; in Pakistan – more than 2%; in Russia – more than 2%; and China – 1%. While on the surface these percentage increases may not seem significant, for these countries –…

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