US visitor visa refusal rate for Sierra Leoneans
The US refused 70.55% of visitor (B1/B2) visa applications from Sierra Leone in FY2025, so about 29.5% were approved — rank 13 of 198 nationalities, up 12.56 points on FY2019. Source: US State Department adjusted refusal rates.
Sierra Leone's adjusted refusal rate for US visitor (B) visas was 70.55% in FY2025. That ranks 13 of 198 nationalities — higher than 94% of countries. It rose 1.19 points from 69.36% in FY2024. Against FY2019, the last pre-pandemic year published, it is 12.56 points higher. Over the 18 published years its highest was 70.55% (FY2025) and its lowest 35.70% (FY2021). Within Sub-Saharan Africa it ranks 9 of 49.
For context, across all nationalities in FY2024 the US refused 27.8% of B1/B2 applications and 41.0% of F-1 student applications. Those are worldwide figures — the government does not publish an F-1 refusal rate for Sierra Leone or for any single country. Why not.
The full published history
Get told when this changes
The State Department publishes these figures once a year with no announcement, and has skipped years entirely. We check the source daily and will email you when the number for Sierra Leone moves. No newsletter, no marketing — just the data changing.
Closest peers by current rate
The countries whose FY2025 rate sits nearest to Sierra Leone’s, either side.
| Country | FY2025 | Rank | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuba | 70.86% | #12 | |
| Burkina Faso | 71.25% | #11 | |
| Nepal | 69.47% | #14 | |
| Burundi | 69.23% | #15 | |
| Togo | 72.02% | #10 |
Elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa
How Sierra Leone’s neighbours compare on the same measure.
| Country | FY2025 | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Somalia | 83.52% | #3 |
| South Sudan | 76.09% | #5 |
| The Gambia | 75.29% | #6 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 75.17% | #7 |
| Senegal | 73.96% | #8 |
| Liberia | 73.01% | #9 |
| Togo | 72.02% | #10 |
| Burkina Faso | 71.25% | #11 |
Every published year
| Fiscal year | Refusal rate | Change |
|---|---|---|
| FY2006 | 49.50% | — |
| FY2007 | 43.10% | -6.40 |
| FY2008 | 50.10% | +7.00 |
| FY2009 | 52.60% | +2.50 |
| FY2010 | 45.70% | -6.90 |
| FY2011 | 48.00% | +2.30 |
| FY2012 | 50.30% | +2.30 |
| FY2013 | 46.50% | -3.80 |
| FY2014 | 51.90% | +5.40 |
| FY2015 | 53.02% | +1.12 |
| FY2016 | 61.25% | +8.23 |
| FY2019 | 57.99% | -3.26 |
| FY2020 | 59.35% | +1.36 |
| FY2021 | 35.70% | -23.65 |
| FY2022 | 45.16% | +9.46 |
| FY2023 | 49.02% | +3.86 |
| FY2024 | 69.36% | +20.34 |
| FY2025 | 70.55% | +1.19 |
FY2017 and FY2018 are absent because the State Department never published them.
Questions people ask
What is the US visa refusal rate for Sierra Leoneans?
70.55% for B1/B2 visitor visas in FY2025, according to the US State Department's adjusted refusal rate, which ranks Sierra Leone 13 of 198.
Is there a US student (F-1) visa refusal rate for Sierra Leoneans?
No. The State Department publishes refusal rates by nationality only for B visitor visas. F-1 and H-1B refusal rates exist only as worldwide totals, so any country-specific student visa refusal rate is an estimate, not an official figure.
What does the adjusted refusal rate count?
Each applicant once per fiscal year at final status: refusals minus refusals later overcome, divided by issuances plus that net refusal count.
Source
US Department of State, Calculation of the Adjusted Visa Refusal Rate for Tourist and Business Travelers Under the Guidelines of the Visa Waiver Program, FY2006–FY2025. One PDF per fiscal year. Primary source ↗
The adjusted rate is (refusals − overcomes) ÷ (issuances + refusals − overcomes),
counting each applicant once per fiscal year at final status and excluding cases that required a
waiver of ineligibility. Rank, change, volatility and peer figures on this page are computed by us
from that data and are not published by the government.