U.S. student visas are denied by different rates, depending on region of the world

In Europe, fewer than 10 percent of applications are typically rejected. But in Africa, denial rates for student visas, known as F-1s, have been at or near 50 percent across the eight-year period studied, the 2015 to 2022 fiscal years.

“These disparate outcomes call for sustained, serious investigation,” said Miriam Feldblum, executive director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a nonprofit group that advocates for international-student-friendly policies.

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