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Freetown · Sierra Leone

Visa issuances and wait times at the U.S. post in Freetown

Monthly tables Mar 2017 to Sep 2025 · 203rd of 217 posts by nonimmigrant issuances in Sep 2025 · wait times read 1 Jul 2026

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. On wait times the Department says: "New appointments are added regularly, so you may get an appointment sooner" and "The average wait times we report do not guarantee a visa applicant will get an appointment within a specific time."

In September 2025, the latest month published, the post in Freetown (Sierra Leone) issued 50 nonimmigrant visas, down 83% on September 2024 (286).

The largest classes that month were B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 18, 36% of the post's issuances, G2 (other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family) with 12, 24% of the post's issuances and A2 (other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family) with 5, 10% of the post's issuances. Among the 211 posts that issued B1/B2 visas in September 2025, Freetown ranks 194th by count.

On the immigrant side the post issued 73 immigrant visas in September 2025, led by IR2 (28) and IR1 (17); 197 in September 2024.

The Department publishes annual totals separately, in its Report of the Visa Office; this site does not add monthly reports together, so the month-by-month table below is read one month at a time.

The Department's Global Visa Wait Times table read on 1 Jul 2026 listed the next available appointment as 1 month for a visitor (B1/B2) interview, 1 month for students and exchange visitors (F, M, J) and 1 month for petition-based workers (H, L, O, P, Q). For visitor visas that is the same as the 1 month listed about six months earlier (2 Dec 2025).

Appointment wait times

Visitor B1/B21 monthnext available appointment; median post 1 month
Student F, M, J1 monthnext available appointment; median post under ½ month
Worker H, L, O, P, Q1 monthnext available appointment; median post under ½ month

under 2 months2 to 6 monthsover 6 monthsnot listedRead from the Department's table 1 Jul 2026.

50nonimmigrant visas, Sep 2025-83% vs Sep 2024 (286)
91nonimmigrant visas, Aug 2025-45% month on month
73immigrant visas, Sep 2025197 in Sep 2024
0.01%share of worldwide nonimmigrant issuances, Sep 2025median post: 909 that month

The Department publishes annual totals separately, in its Report of the Visa Office; monthly reports are not summed on this site.

Monthly issuances by broad class, last 36 months

0295589VisitorsStudents and exchange visitorsTemporary workersDiplomatic, official and international organisationTransit and crewOther nonimmigrant classesOct 2022Apr 2023Oct 2023Apr 2024Oct 2024Apr 2025Oct 2022: 478 (Visitors 386, Students and exchange visitors 53, Temporary workers 3, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 35, Transit and crew 1, Other nonimmigrant classes 0)Nov 2022: 369 (Visitors 303, Students and exchange visitors 21, Temporary workers 1, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 40, Transit and crew 1, Other nonimmigrant classes 3)Dec 2022: 301 (Visitors 208, Students and exchange visitors 57, Temporary workers 4, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 32, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 0)Jan 2023: 466 (Visitors 392, Students and exchange visitors 23, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 43, Transit and crew 1, Other nonimmigrant classes 7)Feb 2023: 411 (Visitors 371, Students and exchange visitors 9, Temporary workers 4, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 25, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 2)Mar 2023: 589 (Visitors 476, Students and exchange visitors 32, Temporary workers 1, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 58, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 22)Apr 2023: 364 (Visitors 315, Students and exchange visitors 12, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 32, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 5)May 2023: 496 (Visitors 427, Students and exchange visitors 37, Temporary workers 2, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 20, Transit and crew 1, Other nonimmigrant classes 9)Jun 2023: 371 (Visitors 288, Students and exchange visitors 36, Temporary workers 7, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 30, Transit and crew 2, Other nonimmigrant classes 8)Jul 2023: 301 (Visitors 204, Students and exchange visitors 61, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 20, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 16)Aug 2023: 385 (Visitors 273, Students and exchange visitors 49, Temporary workers 1, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 54, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 8)Sep 2023: 309 (Visitors 154, Students and exchange visitors 27, Temporary workers 1, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 104, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 23)Oct 2023: 270 (Visitors 219, Students and exchange visitors 11, Temporary workers 2, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 25, Transit and crew 1, Other nonimmigrant classes 12)Nov 2023: 212 (Visitors 149, Students and exchange visitors 17, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 26, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 20)Dec 2023: 182 (Visitors 101, Students and exchange visitors 28, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 30, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 23)Jan 2024: 232 (Visitors 159, Students and exchange visitors 14, Temporary workers 1, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 45, Transit and crew 1, Other nonimmigrant classes 12)Feb 2024: 142 (Visitors 48, Students and exchange visitors 9, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 80, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 5)Mar 2024: 160 (Visitors 81, Students and exchange visitors 16, Temporary workers 1, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 61, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 1)Apr 2024: 283 (Visitors 149, Students and exchange visitors 16, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 107, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 11)May 2024: 288 (Visitors 179, Students and exchange visitors 44, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 52, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 13)Jun 2024: 229 (Visitors 145, Students and exchange visitors 32, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 25, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 27)Jul 2024: 489 (Visitors 240, Students and exchange visitors 74, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 94, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 81)Aug 2024: 248 (Visitors 172, Students and exchange visitors 39, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 31, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 6)Sep 2024: 286 (Visitors 91, Students and exchange visitors 15, Temporary workers 1, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 146, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 33)Oct 2024: 226 (Visitors 142, Students and exchange visitors 18, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 66, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 0)Nov 2024: 148 (Visitors 87, Students and exchange visitors 0, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 34, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 27)Dec 2024: 109 (Visitors 65, Students and exchange visitors 3, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 23, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 18)Jan 2025: 73 (Visitors 58, Students and exchange visitors 3, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 12, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 0)Feb 2025: 172 (Visitors 119, Students and exchange visitors 5, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 36, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 12)Mar 2025: 186 (Visitors 114, Students and exchange visitors 7, Temporary workers 1, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 31, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 33)Apr 2025: 254 (Visitors 146, Students and exchange visitors 22, Temporary workers 1, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 19, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 66)May 2025: 168 (Visitors 110, Students and exchange visitors 16, Temporary workers 1, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 9, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 32)Jun 2025: 103 (Visitors 64, Students and exchange visitors 1, Temporary workers 1, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 8, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 29)Jul 2025: 78 (Visitors 18, Students and exchange visitors 2, Temporary workers 5, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 23, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 30)Aug 2025: 91 (Visitors 14, Students and exchange visitors 9, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 31, Transit and crew 1, Other nonimmigrant classes 36)Sep 2025: 50 (Visitors 18, Students and exchange visitors 5, Temporary workers 0, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 17, Transit and crew 0, Other nonimmigrant classes 10)
Nonimmigrant visas issued at Freetown by month, stacked by broad class group.

VisitorsStudents and exchange visitorsTemporary workersDiplomatic, official and international organisationTransit and crewOther nonimmigrant classes

Groups follow the Department's visa symbols: visitors (B), students and exchange visitors (F, M, J), temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, E, R, TN, I), diplomatic and official (A, G, NATO), transit and crew (C, D), other. Hover a month for its counts. Each bar is one monthly report.

Compared with Sierra Leone and the world, September 2025

Sep 2025FreetownSierra LeoneAll posts
Nonimmigrant visas issued5050823,557
Change on Sep 2024-83%—-11%
Immigrant visas issued737345,966
Visitors share36%—82.5%
Students and exchange visitors share10%—2.9%
Temporary workers share0%—9.4%
Diplomatic, official and international organisation share34%—2.1%
Transit and crew share0%—2.9%
Other nonimmigrant classes share20%—0.2%
B1/B2 next appointment1 month—median 1 month
F, M, J next appointment1 month—median under ½ month

All figures are from the September 2025 tables. The country column adds the posts located in Sierra Leone within that one month; it is not the count for nationals of Sierra Leone, which is on the Sierra Leone nationality page.

Visa classes issued, September 2025

ClassDescription (State Department)IssuedShareRank among posts
B1/B2Temporary visitor for business and pleasure1836%194 of 211
G2Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family1224%87 of 157
A2Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family510%126 of 169
J1Exchange visitor510%150 of 194
K1Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen510%43 of 96
K2Child of K-1510%12 of 35

Immigrant visa classes

ClassDescription (State Department)IssuedShareRank among posts
IR2Child of U.S. citizen2838.4%30 of 103
IR1Spouse of U.S. citizen1723.3%55 of 115
DVDiversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3)1216.4%59 of 96
IR5Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age811%79 of 109
F1Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12)45.5%40 of 82
IR3Orphan adopted abroad by U.S. citizen45.5%3 of 8

Ranks are among posts in the same month's table. Earlier months are linked from the month-by-month table below.

Seasonality

Jan80
Feb62
Mar87
Apr79
May102
Jun99
Jul140
Aug126
Sep108
Oct133
Nov78
Dec64
Which months are busiest at Freetown. Index over 7 complete calendar years; 100 is an average month, darker is busier.

Wait-time history

0105210202220232024202520264 Nov 2022: B1/B2 86 days; F/M/J 114; H/L/O/P/Q 861 Dec 2022: B1/B2 126 days; F/M/J 126; H/L/O/P/Q 12617 Jan 2023: B1/B2 31 days; F/M/J 21; H/L/O/P/Q 311 Feb 2023: B1/B2 92 days; F/M/J 64; H/L/O/P/Q 926 Mar 2023: B1/B2 45 days; F/M/J 17; H/L/O/P/Q 4517 Apr 2023: B1/B2 57 days; F/M/J 50; H/L/O/P/Q 579 Jun 2023: B1/B2 8 days; F/M/J 23; H/L/O/P/Q 831 Jul 2023: B1/B2 4 days; F/M/J 26; H/L/O/P/Q 41 Aug 2023: B1/B2 4 days; F/M/J 26; H/L/O/P/Q 420 Sep 2023: B1/B2 170 days; F/M/J 170; H/L/O/P/Q 412 Oct 2023: B1/B2 119 days; F/M/J 119; H/L/O/P/Q 45 Nov 2023: B1/B2 86 days; F/M/J 86; H/L/O/P/Q 8617 Dec 2023: B1/B2 99 days; F/M/J 99; H/L/O/P/Q 996 Jan 2024: B1/B2 92 days; F/M/J 92; H/L/O/P/Q 921 Feb 2024: B1/B2 100 days; F/M/J 100; H/L/O/P/Q 1006 Mar 2024: B1/B2 100 days; F/M/J 100; H/L/O/P/Q 1009 Apr 2024: B1/B2 154 days; F/M/J 113; H/L/O/P/Q 1548 May 2024: B1/B2 82 days; F/M/J 82; H/L/O/P/Q 8217 Jun 2024: B1/B2 148 days; F/M/J 107; H/L/O/P/Q 1486 Jul 2024: B1/B2 142 days; F/M/J 106; H/L/O/P/Q 1427 Aug 2024: B1/B2 176 days; F/M/J 86; H/L/O/P/Q 17614 Sep 2024: B1/B2 177 days; F/M/J 85; H/L/O/P/Q 1772 Oct 2024: B1/B2 155 days; F/M/J 155; H/L/O/P/Q 15512 Nov 2024: B1/B2 162 days; F/M/J 162; H/L/O/P/Q 1621 Dec 2024: B1/B2 170 days; F/M/J 170; H/L/O/P/Q 1706 Jan 2025: B1/B2 176 days; F/M/J 176; H/L/O/P/Q 1767 Feb 2025: B1/B2 176 days; F/M/J 176; H/L/O/P/Q 1765 Mar 2025: B1/B2 176 days; F/M/J 176; H/L/O/P/Q 17616 Apr 2025: B1/B2 155 days; F/M/J 155; H/L/O/P/Q 1551 May 2025: B1/B2 150 days; F/M/J 150; H/L/O/P/Q 1504 Jun 2025: B1/B2 120 days; F/M/J 120; H/L/O/P/Q 1202 Jul 2025: B1/B2 120 days; F/M/J 120; H/L/O/P/Q 1203 Aug 2025: B1/B2 195 days; F/M/J 210; H/L/O/P/Q 1957 Sep 2025: B1/B2 180 days; F/M/J 180; H/L/O/P/Q 1803 Oct 2025: B1/B2 165 days; F/M/J 150; H/L/O/P/Q 2101 Nov 2025: B1/B2 150 days; F/M/J 150; H/L/O/P/Q 2102 Dec 2025: B1/B2 30 days; F/M/J 30; H/L/O/P/Q 306 Jan 2026: B1/B2 7 days; F/M/J 7; H/L/O/P/Q 78 Feb 2026: B1/B2 30 days; F/M/J 30; H/L/O/P/Q 307 Mar 2026: B1/B2 30 days; F/M/J 30; H/L/O/P/Q 304 Apr 2026: B1/B2 30 days; F/M/J 30; H/L/O/P/Q 3014 May 2026: B1/B2 7 days; F/M/J 7; H/L/O/P/Q 77 Jun 2026: B1/B2 30 days; F/M/J 30; H/L/O/P/Q 301 Jul 2026: B1/B2 30 days; F/M/J 30; H/L/O/P/Q 30

Visitor B1/B2Student F, M, JWorker H, L, O, P, Q

Next available appointment at Freetown over time. Days to the next available appointment as listed on each reading date (44 readings, 4 Nov 2022 to 1 Jul 2026). From 1 May 2025 the Department publishes the estimate in half-month steps; those are shown as 30 days per month.

Month by month

MonthNonimmigrantImmigrantvs same month prior year
Sep 20255073-83%
Aug 20259119-63%
Jul 20257837-84%
Jun 202510394-55%
May 2025168135-42%
Apr 202525496-10%
Mar 202518687+16%
Feb 2025172170+21%
Jan 20257320-69%
Dec 2024109152-40%
Nov 202414890-30%
Oct 202422660-16%
Sep 2024286197-7%
Aug 2024248114-36%
Jul 2024489157+62%
Jun 2024229110-38%
May 2024288213-42%
Apr 2024283238-22%
Mar 2024160226-73%
Feb 2024142267-65%
Jan 2024232198-50%
Dec 2023182120-40%
Nov 2023212150-43%
Oct 2023270127-44%

One row per monthly report; the rows are not added together. Each month links to the post's class breakdown for that month. Global totals for any month: September 2025.

Freetown
Location of the U.S. post in Freetown.This post Other posts in the country Outlines: Natural Earth.

Questions and answers

How many visas did the U.S. post in Freetown issue last month?

50 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, the latest month in the State Department's monthly issuance tables, and 73 immigrant visas. In September 2024 the post issued 286 nonimmigrant visas.

What is the wait for a visitor visa interview in Freetown?

The Department's Global Visa Wait Times table, read on 1 Jul 2026, listed the next available B1/B2 interview appointment as 1 month away (under 2 months). The Department updates the table monthly and says new appointments are added regularly, so an applicant may get an appointment sooner.

What is the wait for a student visa interview in Freetown?

The next available F, M or J appointment was listed as 1 month away on 1 Jul 2026. Student appointments are scheduled separately from visitor appointments at most posts.

Which visa classes does Freetown issue most?

In September 2025: B1/B2 (18, 36%), G2 (12, 24%), A2 (5, 10%), J1 (5, 10%) and K1 (5, 10%). 6 nonimmigrant classes appear in the post's table for the month.

Is visa volume at Freetown rising or falling?

September 2025: 50 nonimmigrant visas, down 83% on September 2024 (286). The month-by-month series on this page shows the path one month at a time; the Department notes that monthly reports are preliminary and subject to change and should not be added together.

How many visas does Freetown issue in a year?

The Department publishes annual totals separately, in its Report of the Visa Office, and says its monthly reports should not be aggregated, so this site shows no yearly figure for a post. The annual tables by nationality are on the nationality pages.

What does the issuance count for Freetown not tell you?

It is the number of visas issued, not the number of applications received or interviews held, and it says nothing about the outcome of any individual application. The Department publishes refusal rates only for B visas by nationality, not by post.

Where does this data come from?

The State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs publishes monthly nonimmigrant and immigrant visa issuance tables by post and visa class, and a Global Visa Wait Times table. Issuances on this page run March 2017 to September 2025; wait times are read from the Department's table and kept as dated snapshots (44 readings for this post).

Provenance

Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Monthly Nonimmigrant Visa Issuances by Post and Visa Class and Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuances by Post and Visa Class (latest NIV table, latest IV table), public domain; Global Visa Wait Times table, read on the dates shown. Issuance data through 30 Sep 2025; site generated 1 Oct 2026. Errors in processing are corrected at the next build; see corrections.