State Department has released a report of the immigrant visas of the US issued last year. The total number reached 562,976 which is the highest during the last five years. The immigrant visa in the United States is issued under the categories of employment, family reunification, special immigration classes, and sponsored streams.
Overall, 245,696 visas were granted to immediate relatives members and 194,419 to family-sponsored preference streams. People in the Special Immigrants stream got 21,040 visas. For the Diversity Immigrants stream, 55,076 visas were granted. Number of Employment-Based visas reached 46,508.
Countries where most Immigrant Visas were awarded
From the categories, according to the State Department, most of the immigrant visas were issued to the people who applied in Mexico 70,777. In the Dominican Republic, 55,218 applicants got this visa. At number three remained Indian nationals with 31,250 visa approvals. Vietnamese nationals were granted 31,133 and the Philippines 30,491.
Diversity Visas (DV Lottery) issued
A total of 55,993 immigrant visas were issued in 2023 under the Diversity Visas under the lottery program to eligible countries. Algeria topped the list where its applicants were awarded 3,846 visas. Nationals of Nepal received 3,375 visas. Russian citizens were granted 2,988, Uzbekistanis 2,398, and Armenians 2,328 visas. This is a so-called Green Card that helps them settle permanently in the US. Currently, the online status of the application results can also be checked here for the 2025 Lottery program.
The US issued 10,438,327 nonimmigrant visas to applicants around the world last year. This is a 34 percent increase in the visas issued compared to the previous year. The granted visas were for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work, study, or other similar reasons.
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Region-wise issued visas
Region-wise, most of the immigrant visas were issued as follows:
Region | Immigrant Visas Issued |
Western Hemisphere | 247,841 |
East Asia and the Pacific | 100,791 |
South and Central Asia | 79,817 |
Europe and Eurasia | 45,587 |
Near East | 46,054 |
Africa | 42,886 |
Total | 562,976 |