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Zambia · Africa
U.S. visas issued to nationals of Zambia
The reports below contain preliminary data which are subject to change. Beginning with FY 2020, individual monthly issuance reports should not be aggregated, as this will not provide an accurate issuance total for the fiscal year to date. Instead, refer to our annual Report of the Visa Office for final full Fiscal Year statistics.
In September 2025, 134 nonimmigrant visas were issued to nationals of Zambia, the 137th largest count among 203 nationalities that month; that is down 70% on September 2024 (440).
For the full fiscal year the Department's Report of the Visa Office lists 3,698 nonimmigrant visas issued to nationals of Zambia in FY2024, 0% of the 10,969,936 issued worldwide and the 127th largest nationality of 197. The previous year's figure was 4,958 (FY2023).
The largest classes in September 2025 were G2 (other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family) with 43, B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 37 and A2 (other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family) with 12. 15 immigrant visas were issued to applicants chargeable to Zambia in the same month, led by DV (6) and IR1 (3).
The Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (visitor) visa applicants who are nationals of Zambia was 52.45% in FY2025, close to the Africa median of 55.57%; it was 44.97% in FY2024. The rate covers B visas only and is the Department's own calculation, counting each applicant once by their final status in the year.
In the Diversity Visa program, 236 entrants chargeable to Zambia were selected for DV-2026, 0.2% of all selectees that year; the count was 118 for DV-2025. Selection is not a visa; the Department's pages explain that selectees must still qualify and that more are selected than there are visas.
The U.S. post in Zambia (Lusaka) issued 207 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, to applicants of all nationalities.
Nonimmigrant issuances by month
Compared with the Africa region and the world
| Measure | Zambia | Africa (54 nationalities) | All nationalities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | 3,698 | 539,434 | 10,969,936 |
| Median nationality, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | — | 2,955 | 7,901 |
| Nonimmigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 134 | 23,471 | 823,557 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | -70% | — | -11% |
| Immigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 15 | — | 45,966 |
| B-visa adjusted refusal rate, FY2025 | 52.45% | 55.57% | 31.28% |
| DV-2026 selectees | 236 | — | 129,516 |
Fiscal-year rows are the Department's Report of the Visa Office tables; monthly rows are the September 2025 report alone. Region and world refusal figures are medians across the nationalities listed in the Department's table for that year; regions follow the Report of the Visa Office grouping.
Visa classes, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued, FY2024 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 2,230 | 60.3% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 265 | 7.2% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 227 | 6.1% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 220 | 5.9% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 217 | 5.9% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 178 | 4.8% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 167 | 4.5% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 36 | 1% |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 25 | 0.7% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 18 | 0.5% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 13 | 0.4% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 13 | 0.4% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 12 | 0.3% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 12 | 0.3% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 12 | 0.3% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 10 | 0.3% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 9 | 0.2% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 6 | 0.2% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 6 | 0.2% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 5 | 0.1% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 4 | 0.1% |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 4 | 0.1% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 3 | 0.1% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 2 | 0.1% |
| Q1 | Participant in an international cultural exchange program | 2 | 0.1% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 1 | 0% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 1 | 0% |
From the Department's annual NIV detail table (nationality by class). Older symbol spellings in the table (B-1,2; H-1B) are shown in the current form.
Visa classes, September 2025
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 43 | 32.1% |
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 37 | 27.6% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 12 | 9% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 9 | 6.7% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 8 | 6% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 6 | 4.5% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 5 | 3.7% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 4 | 3% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 3 | 2.2% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 2 | 1.5% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 1 | 0.7% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 1 | 0.7% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 1 | 0.7% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 1 | 0.7% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 1 | 0.7% |
Immigrant visa classes, September 2025 (foreign state of chargeability)
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 6 | 40% |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 3 | 20% |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 2 | 13.3% |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 1 | 6.7% |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 1 | 6.7% |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 1 | 6.7% |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 1 | 6.7% |
Nonimmigrant issuances by fiscal year, Report of the Visa Office
| Fiscal year | All classes | Visitors (B) | Students, exchange (F, M, J) | Temporary workers | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | 3,394 | 2,367 | 259 | 60 | — |
| FY2016 | 3,325 | 2,347 | 263 | 63 | -2% |
| FY2017 | 3,455 | 2,490 | 288 | 52 | +4% |
| FY2018 | 3,667 | 2,670 | 309 | 56 | +6% |
| FY2019 | 3,139 | 2,140 | 320 | 55 | -14% |
| FY2020 | 1,266 | 845 | 128 | 25 | -60% |
| FY2021 | 873 | 232 | 275 | 36 | -31% |
| FY2022 | 3,728 | 2,705 | 356 | 46 | +327% |
| FY2023 | 4,958 | 3,592 | 426 | 70 | +33% |
| FY2024 | 3,698 | 2,233 | 542 | 76 | -25% |
Fiscal years run October to September. Every row is the Department's final annual detail table for that year; the visitor, student and worker columns add the table's class columns within one year. No monthly reports are summed.
Adjusted B-visa refusal rate by fiscal year
Dark bar: Zambia. Grey bar: Africa median for the same year. The Department's rate covers B visas only; it counts each applicant once, in the status in which the fiscal year ended, so an applicant refused and later issued in the same year counts as an issuance. Source tables: FY2023, FY2024, FY2025.
Diversity Visa selectees by program year
| Program year | Selectees chargeable to Zambia | Share of all selectees | All selectees |
|---|---|---|---|
| DV-2016 | 57 | 0.1% | 91,563 |
| DV-2017 | 36 | 0% | 83,910 |
| DV-2018 | 68 | 0.1% | 115,968 |
| DV-2019 | 41 | 0% | 87,610 |
| DV-2020 | 12 | 0% | 83,884 |
| DV-2021 | 67 | 0.1% | 132,404 |
| DV-2022 | 56 | 0% | 119,021 |
| DV-2023 | 59 | 0% | 119,262 |
| DV-2024 | 85 | 0.1% | 142,947 |
| DV-2025 | 118 | 0.1% | 131,060 |
| DV-2026 | 236 | 0.2% | 129,516 |
Counts of selected entrants as published on the Department's "selected entrants" pages; no names are published or held. Selection is not a visa: the Department selects more entrants than visas available, and DV visas are issued only to selectees who qualify before the program year ends.
U.S. posts in Zambia
- Lusaka: 207 nonimmigrant visas issued in Sep 2025, to applicants of all nationalities
Questions and answers
What is the U.S. visa refusal rate for nationals of Zambia?
The State Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (business and tourist) visas was 52.45% in FY2025 against a Africa median of 55.57%. The Department publishes this rate only for B visas and only by nationality; it counts each applicant once, by the status in which the year ended.
How many U.S. visas were issued to nationals of Zambia last year?
3,698 nonimmigrant visas in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office, the Department's final annual figure. In September 2025, the latest monthly report, 134 were issued.
How does September 2025 compare with a year earlier for Zambia?
134 nonimmigrant visas, down 70% on September 2024 (440). Months are compared one to one; the Department says its monthly reports should not be added together.
Which visa classes do nationals of Zambia receive most?
B1/B2 (2,230), F1 (265), J1 (227), A2 (220) and G4 (217) in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office.
How many DV lottery selectees did Zambia have?
236 for DV-2026, 0.2% of all selectees. Earlier years: DV-2022 56, DV-2023 59, DV-2024 85, DV-2025 118. Being selected is not a visa; the Department selects more entrants than there are visas available.
Where do nationals of Zambia apply?
Lusaka is the U.S. post in Zambia. Nationals may also apply at posts elsewhere, subject to each post's rules, so the nationality figures on this page and the post figures are different counts.
Where does this data come from?
The State Department's monthly nonimmigrant and immigrant visa issuance tables by nationality, the annual Report of the Visa Office detail tables, the annual adjusted B-visa refusal rate tables and the Diversity Visa selectee pages. Data through 30 Sep 2025.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Monthly Nonimmigrant Visa Issuances by Nationality and Visa Class; Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuances by Foreign State of Chargeability or Place of Birth and Visa Class; Report of the Visa Office NIV detail tables (workbook); Adjusted Refusal Rate, B-Visas Only, by Nationality; Diversity Visa selected entrants pages. All public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.