Visa issuances and wait times at the U.S. post in Cape Town
Monthly tables Mar 2017 to Sep 2025 · 94th 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 Cape Town (South Africa) issued 1,159 nonimmigrant visas, down 38% on September 2024 (1,874).
The largest classes that month were B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 620, 53.5% of the post's issuances, H2B (temporary worker performing other services) with 284, 24.5% of the post's issuances and H2A (temporary worker performing agricultural services) with 96, 8.3% of the post's issuances. Among the 211 posts that issued B1/B2 visas in September 2025, Cape Town ranks 96th by count; for F1 student visas it ranks 164th of 184.
The immigrant visa table for September 2025 lists no issuances for this post; many posts handle only nonimmigrant applications.
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 4 months for a visitor (B1/B2) interview, 1 month for students and exchange visitors (F, M, J) and under ½ month for petition-based workers (H, L, O, P, Q). For visitor visas that is longer than the 1 month listed about six months earlier (2 Dec 2025).
Appointment wait times
Visitor B1/B24 monthsnext available appointment; median post 1 month
Student F, M, J1 monthnext available appointment; median post under ½ month
Worker H, L, O, P, Qunder ½ 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.
1,159nonimmigrant visas, Sep 2025-38% vs Sep 2024 (1,874)
1,237nonimmigrant visas, Aug 2025-6% month on month
0immigrant visas, Sep 20250 in Sep 2024
0.14%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
Nonimmigrant visas issued at Cape Town by month, stacked by broad class group.
VisitorsStudents and exchange visitorsTemporary workersDiplomatic, official and international organisationTransit and crew
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 South Africa and the world, September 2025
Sep 2025
Cape Town
All 4 posts in South Africa
All posts
Nonimmigrant visas issued
1,159
4,147
823,557
Change on Sep 2024
-38%
—
-11%
Immigrant visas issued
0
85
45,966
Visitors share
56.1%
—
82.5%
Students and exchange visitors share
4%
—
2.9%
Temporary workers share
34.4%
—
9.4%
Diplomatic, official and international organisation share
1.1%
—
2.1%
Transit and crew share
4.4%
—
2.9%
B1/B2 next appointment
4 months
—
median 1 month
F, M, J next appointment
1 month
—
median under ½ month
All figures are from the September 2025 tables. The country column adds the posts located in South Africa (Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town) within that one month; it is not the count for nationals of South Africa, which is on the South Africa nationality page.
Ranks are among posts in the same month's table. Earlier months are linked from the month-by-month table below.
Seasonality
Jan93
Feb144
Mar168
Apr122
May103
Jun91
Jul105
Aug102
Sep100
Oct86
Nov82
Dec62
Which months are busiest at Cape Town. Index over 7 complete calendar years; 100 is an average month, darker is busier.
Wait-time history
Visitor B1/B2Student F, M, JWorker H, L, O, P, Q
Next available appointment at Cape Town 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.
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.
Location of the U.S. post in Cape Town.This post Other posts in the country Outlines: Natural Earth.
How many visas did the U.S. post in Cape Town issue last month?
1,159 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, the latest month in the State Department's monthly issuance tables. In September 2024 the post issued 1,874 nonimmigrant visas.
What is the wait for a visitor visa interview in Cape Town?
The Department's Global Visa Wait Times table, read on 1 Jul 2026, listed the next available B1/B2 interview appointment as 4 months away (2 to 6 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 Cape Town?
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 Cape Town issue most?
In September 2025: B1/B2 (620, 53.5%), H2B (284, 24.5%), H2A (96, 8.3%), C1/D (51, 4.4%) and J1 (42, 3.6%). 20 nonimmigrant classes appear in the post's table for the month.
Is visa volume at Cape Town rising or falling?
September 2025: 1,159 nonimmigrant visas, down 38% on September 2024 (1,874). 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 Cape Town 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 Cape Town 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.