Rejected Afrikaner refugee applicants say criminal records cost them US resettlement

Several Afrikaner applicants who sought resettlement in the United States say they were rejected after criminal charges or past incidents in their records were raised during screening, according to reporting by The Guardian and details published by The South African.

Applicants describe shock after receiving rejection letters

Those who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Guardian they were distressed on receiving ineligibility letters. One man in his 60s said he and his partner had completed the screening process last year and received a rejection letter in June after a marijuana conviction belonging to his partner was disclosed. He said,

“I cried like a baby. It was something I actually believed was attainable. I believed the hype.”

Another couple told investigators they had sold all their possessions before receiving a rejection letter in July. The husband said he had a 2014 trespassing conviction for which he paid a fine and did not go to court; despite that record he had been granted multiple temporary visas to work on farms in the US between 2011 and 2024.

Serious charges cited in other rejections

A man in his 60s also described being rejected after disclosing a 1995 incident in which he shot a Black person while working as security personnel. He said authorities investigated and did not charge him because he was found to have acted in self-defence. After filing a Freedom of Information request, he was told the reasons for his rejection were “crime involving moral turpitude” and “commission of acts of torture or extrajudicial killing”.

USCIS grounds for revoking or rejecting applications

The South African summarised official grounds under which applications can be revoked or rejected by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). These include:

• Fraud and misrepresentation
• Ineligibility
• Security and terrorism concerns
• Criminal history

The publication noted USCIS is under no obligation to grant an appeal to a rejected refugee applicant, though it said applications may be reviewed in rare cases if evidence is missing or a factual error is found; such review is discretionary.

Warnings about disclosure during screening

US YouTuber and intelligence commentator Chris Wyatt said many rejections stemmed from applicants not being forthcoming during screening. He said in a video:

“I’ll tell you why people are getting denied. Criminal activity, criminal convictions, lying to investigators, and drug offences and drug use. Over the past year, I’ve repeatedly said that an act of omission is an act of commission. Do not mislead or lie.”

Wyatt also addressed expunged records, saying:

“Expunged doesn’t mean that the record is gone. It just means that you don’t have a personal criminal record. It doesn’t mean the government doesn’t retain records of it. They consider that a lie. You’ve made yourself ineligible.”

Programme context

The resettlement programme is open to South Africans who face “racial persecution” or a fear of future persecution to apply for resettlement in the United States. The South African report said figures show more than 13 000 ethnic minorities, predominantly white South Africans, have resettled under the US administration of President Donald Trump.