Hundreds of Afrikaners who had pinned their hopes on relocating to the United States under President Donald Trump’s refugee programme for minority groups have been dealt a devastating blow, after receiving letters informing them that their applications were unsuccessful.
The letters, dated 30 June, are the first formal ineligibility notices issued since the programme was launched last year. They effectively amount to a denial of refugee status and offer no explanation for the decision. There is no right of appeal.
For many families, the rejection has come after months — in some cases more than a year — of preparation, expense and emotional investment.
Chris Wyatt, a former army colonel and commentator familiar with the refugee application process, estimates that between 500 and 1 000 applications have been rejected.
US authorities have confirmed the authenticity of the letters. Spokesperson Zach Kahler said the programme to resettle Afrikaner refugees is continuing.
“Individuals found ineligible, including for public safety concerns or criminal histories, are notified by US Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS makes all decisions on US Refugee Admissions Programme applications on a case-by-case basis to ensure individuals are eligible for admission and that every admitted refugee meets all requirements under US law. This administration will always prioritise the safety and welfare of the American people.”
Lives Put on Hold
For applicants who believed their departure was imminent, the letters have left them stranded and uncertain about what comes next.
Some had already resigned from their jobs, sold their possessions, received vaccinations and completed cultural orientation courses in anticipation of relocating to the US.
One unsuccessful applicant from KwaZulu-Natal described the rejection as nothing short of catastrophic. The 60-year-old applied in April last year and said he subsequently lost his job when his employer discovered he intended to emigrate.
“We spent thousands of rand travelling to Johannesburg for interviews, medical tests and other appointments. My fiancée was approved, but I was rejected. I’m absolutely torn apart. I waited 15 months just to receive this letter,” said the tearful 60-year-old.
He and his fiancée are now living with her parents.
“We’ve already lost everything, and America was our last hope. What irks me is that people were actually rejected long ago, but we only received the letters on 30 June. They strung us along. Why couldn’t they simply have told us months ago that we’d been rejected?”
The emotional toll is evident in his words.
“I’m 60 years old. With all due respect, where does a white man my age find work in South Africa? I literally cry at night. I have nothing.”
“I’m not looking for sympathy, but I’ve never thought so much about it … I’m a burden. And what’s the prescribed solution? To kill yourself? That’s how I feel,” he told Rapport.
The man insisted he has no criminal record and no history of drug use, acknowledging only that he had made mistakes in his life.
“If I don’t find work, we’re doomed to poverty. I ask God why this is happening. Every door is closing. Must I lose everything like Job? Because I’ve already lost everything. Everyone keeps saying we must remember that the refugee process is a privilege.”
Families Divided by Decisions
Rapport has reviewed numerous rejection letters and identified several cases in which one family member was declared ineligible while another was approved.
For those families, the outcome has created agonising choices: proceed with resettlement and risk separation, or abandon the move altogether and remain in South Africa.
A Western Cape applicant whose application was rejected said he has a criminal record for theft dating back more than four decades.
“There’s no point hiding it from the Americans because they know everything about you. I told them about it during the interview process, and they asked whether I would do it again. I laughed and said it was more than 40 years ago.
“We’d already received our vaccinations and attended cultural orientation. They gave us the impression it was only a matter of time after that. In fact, they told us to keep an eye on our emails because plane tickets could arrive within days.
“We even received orientation certificates wishing us well on our journey and in our new lives in an unfamiliar country. We resigned from our jobs, sold everything and were literally living out of two 23kg suitcases.
“Our medical tests expired in March this year, and they even booked new ones for us shortly before we received the rejection letters. This entire process has destroyed our lives,” said the emotional 61-year-old.
He said he has since found temporary work while waiting, but at significant personal cost.
“I found work to survive while we wait, but my wife now lives 100km away from me. I don’t blame anyone. It’s the system that has let so many people down.”
“These are people who survived on hope for so long. Some families have already taken their children out of school. We’re actually quite embarrassed now because our family and friends all thought we’d be leaving the country any day.”
Why the Letters Came in a Batch
Wyatt said he sympathised with those whose applications had been rejected, “but they made themselves ineligible through their past or current actions”.
He explained that applicants would ordinarily be informed immediately if they were declared ineligible, but he suspects that various processes — including legal ones — had to be completed before the letters could be issued. Once those were finalised, the notices were sent out in a single batch.
“Because the letters do not explain why an application was rejected, people are confused, and I completely understand that. But in many cases, people made themselves ineligible.
“In the past, under refugee programmes, rejected applicants could request a review of the decision. However, so few of those requests succeeded that the process was eventually scrapped. It’s not really an appeal that goes before a board. You simply ask for a review, but the case goes back to the same adjudicator who rejected it in the first place. Unless new facts come to light or you can provide information that refutes something in the record, that decision is unlikely to be overturned.
“I warned people from the outset not to sell their belongings, resign from their jobs or tell family and friends. There are people who have now been unemployed for a year and a half because their employers discovered their plans.
“People can declutter and get rid of unnecessary possessions, but you can’t stop working until those plane tickets are actually in your hands.”
Hope Deferred
For many applicants, the most painful aspect of the rejection is not only the refusal itself, but the timing.
Months of silence had fuelled expectations that approval was imminent. Vaccinations were administered. Orientation sessions completed. In some cases, fresh medical tests were scheduled shortly before the letters arrived.
Now, hundreds of families must rebuild plans that had already been dismantled.
The refugee programme remains in place, US authorities insist. But for those who received letters on 30 June, the American dream they had begun packing for has, for now, come to an abrupt halt.
