The Top Countries For U.S. Visa Refusals

If you're a Cuban focused on visiting the United States for tourism of business purposes, it's probably going to be a case of "close but no cigar". Even though relations between Washington and Havanna have improved hugely over the past few months, Cuba still has the highest rate of U.S. visa refusal of any country worldwide. According to U.S. State Department data, 81.9 percent of all Cuban applications for B Visas (tourism or business) were turned down in fiscal year 2016.

Afghanistan came second for visa denials with 73.8 percent of all applications refused. Elsewhere, the highest rates of refusal were recorded across Africa with Mauritania and Liberia both having rates higher than 70 percent. 38 countries are part of a visa waiver program and although their citizens do not have to deal with the bureaucracy and apprehension of applying for a visa, they still have to provide the U.S. government with substantial personal information before they are admitted.