Narayan AmmachchiCitizens of several Latin American countries face a high probability of having their U.S. visitor visa applications rejected, according to a Bloomberglinea report citing data from the U.S. Department of State.
The B-1/B-2 visa category, which allows short-term travel to the United States for tourism, family visits, or business trips, shows particularly high refusal rates in parts of Central America and the Caribbean.
The State Department’s fiscal year 2025 report on “adjusted refusal rates” indicates that applicants from Cuba face the steepest odds, with more than 70% of B-visa applications rejected. High rejection rates are also recorded for El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua, where between 50% and 60% of applications were denied.
In South America, citizens of Venezuela saw the highest refusal rate at 48.22%, followed by Ecuador at 42.24% and Colombia at 32.84%. Other countries with notable rejection levels include Honduras (46.52%), Guatemala (39.21%), Dominican Republic (36.40%), and Mexico (21.36%).
By contrast, some countries in the region enjoy much lower denial rates. Uruguay stands out with a refusal rate of just 2.51%, while Argentina (7.4%) and Panama (6.51%) also report relatively high approval rates.
Separately, the United States has announced a temporary suspension of immigrant visas—those granted to foreigners seeking to live and work permanently — to 75 countries, including 14 in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, the measure does not apply to short-term tourism and business visas. Countries affected include Brazil, Jamaica, Guatemala and Saint Lucia.
Several other countries in the region—such as Argentina, Ecuador, Honduras and El Salvador—were not included in the suspension list.
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