From Refugee to Green Card: What Happens After Resettlement in the US
- Thousands of Afrikaners have moved to the United States since May 2025 under a refugee programme that only accepts white South Africans
- A South African mother living in California says refugees must fund their own medical exams before applying for permanent residence
- Refugees cannot travel abroad on their South African passports and must instead apply for a special US travel document first
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Afrikaner refugees who resettled in the United States since May 2025 must wait a full year before applying for a Green Card. The process brings fresh paperwork, medical exams and travel restrictions many were never warned about.
The refugees arrived under a programme created by President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order in February 2025 accusing South Africa’s government of discriminating against the mostly Afrikaner minority. His administration set a refugee ceiling of just 7,500 for the 2026 financial year, the lowest in decades, and directed most of those spots to white South Africans.
By April 2026, more than 6,000 refugees had entered the US under the programme, almost all of them South African, with the largest numbers settling in Texas, Florida and California, according to a report by PassBlue.
For families now living in that system, the one year countdown to a Green Card is only the beginning. One woman who arrived in March 2026 and asked to be identified only as Magriet, a South African mother now living in California, has been documenting the process for her community.
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“A Green Card does not arrive automatically after one year,” she said.
“Every family member needs an individual application, supporting documents and medical documentation. There may also be biometrics, requests for further evidence and interviews.”
According to USCIS guidance for refugees, refugees must file Form I-485 once they have spent a full year physically present in the country, and there is no government filing fee for that application. But Magriet said the real cost lies elsewhere.
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Medical bills and missing documents slow the process
The woman told Briefly News that every applicant needs an immigration medical exam completed by an authorised civil surgeon, and that bill falls on the family.
“An authorised civil surgeon must complete the immigration medical, which can cost about $300 to $500 per person, depending on the doctor, state and location,” Magriet said.
For a family of five, that adds up to between $1,500 and $2,500 just for medical checks.
Government-funded health cover for new refugees is also short lived. Magriet said initial medical assistance in California runs out after eight months for people who do not otherwise qualify for Medicaid.
“I believe many families will delay their applications simply because they cannot afford the medical costs,” she said.
She is also urging newly arrived South Africans to sort out their paperwork before they leave.
“My advice is simple: obtain every unabridged civil document you may need before leaving South Africa,” she said, warning that chasing documents from Home Affairs after arrival can delay an entire case.
Travel is another complication few refugees expect. The USCIS brochure confirms that refugees must apply for a refugee travel document, using Form I-131, before leaving the country again, and a standard work permit does not count as travel authorisation. Magriet said that requirement has already cost her a job offer.
“I have already had to turn down a job offer because it required international travel,” she said.
“I could not safely travel using my South African passport, and there was no guarantee that I would be permitted to re-enter the United States.”
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Despite the setbacks, she noted refugees already have the right to work, study and rebuild their lives from the day they arrive, without waiting for a Green Card. She has found work in marketing and enrolled her children in an American school. A Green Card, she said, would simply confirm what already feels true.
“It is the final step from saying, ‘We arrived in America,’ to saying, ‘We are Americans.’”
She now shares guidance with other new arrivals through a support network she says has grown to more than 30,000 members, run as a volunteer effort with no monetisation involved.
South Africa’s government has repeatedly rejected the premise of the US programme, calling claims of persecution against Afrikaners factually inaccurate. Washington has continued expanding the initiative regardless, with officials reportedly weighing a far larger intake of white South Africans in the years ahead, according to Reuters.
3 more articles about Afrikaneer refuges in the US
- Afrikaner commentator William Peltzer called out an American church for refusing to help resettle white South African refugees.
- Sonet, an Afrikaner woman living in the US under a refugee programme, filmed herself during a midnight break at her Walmart job.
- An Afrikaner couple has shared their moving journey after relocating from South Africa to Texas, USA, under a refugee programme.
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Source: Briefly News
