Nationalities › China - mainland
China - mainland · Asia
U.S. visas issued to nationals of China - mainland
The reports below contain preliminary data which are subject to change. Beginning with FY 2020, individual monthly issuance reports should not be aggregated, as this will not provide an accurate issuance total for the fiscal year to date. Instead, refer to our annual Report of the Visa Office for final full Fiscal Year statistics.
In September 2025, 92,098 nonimmigrant visas were issued to nationals of China - mainland, the 2nd largest count among 203 nationalities that month; that is up 30% on September 2024 (71,105).
For the full fiscal year the Department's Report of the Visa Office lists 818,727 nonimmigrant visas issued to nationals of China - mainland in FY2024, 7.5% of the 10,969,936 issued worldwide and the 4th largest nationality of 197. The previous year's figure was 417,008 (FY2023).
The largest classes in September 2025 were B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 84,363, H1B (temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse) with 1,920 and F1 (student in an academic or language training program) with 1,418. 1,182 immigrant visas were issued to applicants chargeable to China - mainland in the same month, led by IR5 (392) and F4 (211).
The Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (visitor) visa applicants who are nationals of China - mainland was 20.21% in FY2025, close to the Asia median of 25.20%; it was 25.37% in FY2024. The rate covers B visas only and is the Department's own calculation, counting each applicant once by their final status in the year.
China - mainland does not appear in the Department's Diversity Visa selectee lists for the years on this site, which usually means its nationals were not eligible to enter.
6 U.S. posts in China - mainland (Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang and Wuhan) issued 80,165 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, to applicants of all nationalities.
Nonimmigrant issuances by month
Compared with the Asia region and the world
| Measure | China - mainland | Asia (40 nationalities) | All nationalities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | 818,727 | 3,601,133 | 10,969,936 |
| Median nationality, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | — | 17,838 | 7,901 |
| Nonimmigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 92,098 | 271,934 | 823,557 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | +30% | — | -11% |
| Immigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 1,182 | — | 45,966 |
| B-visa adjusted refusal rate, FY2025 | 20.21% | 25.20% | 31.28% |
Fiscal-year rows are the Department's Report of the Visa Office tables; monthly rows are the September 2025 report alone. Region and world refusal figures are medians across the nationalities listed in the Department's table for that year; regions follow the Report of the Visa Office grouping.
Visa classes, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued, FY2024 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 645,977 | 78.9% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 82,654 | 10.1% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 31,735 | 3.9% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 14,297 | 1.7% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 12,234 | 1.5% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 5,724 | 0.7% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 4,675 | 0.6% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 4,558 | 0.6% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 3,101 | 0.4% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 2,841 | 0.3% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 1,783 | 0.2% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 1,476 | 0.2% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 1,033 | 0.1% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 1,004 | 0.1% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 911 | 0.1% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 602 | 0.1% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 559 | 0.1% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 496 | 0.1% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 466 | 0.1% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 376 | 0% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 365 | 0% |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 287 | 0% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 261 | 0% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 206 | 0% |
| B2 | Temporary visitor for pleasure | 160 | 0% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 155 | 0% |
| CW1 | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands transitional worker | 147 | 0% |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 136 | 0% |
| TD | Spouse or child of TN | 95 | 0% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 57 | 0% |
From the Department's annual NIV detail table (nationality by class). Older symbol spellings in the table (B-1,2; H-1B) are shown in the current form.
Visa classes, September 2025
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 84,363 | 91.6% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 1,920 | 2.1% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 1,418 | 1.5% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 1,154 | 1.3% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 645 | 0.7% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 574 | 0.6% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 343 | 0.4% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 334 | 0.4% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 216 | 0.2% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 195 | 0.2% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 168 | 0.2% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 165 | 0.2% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 113 | 0.1% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 66 | 0.1% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 61 | 0.1% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 52 | 0.1% |
| B2 | Temporary visitor for pleasure | 43 | 0% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 40 | 0% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 35 | 0% |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 31 | 0% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 25 | 0% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 24 | 0% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 19 | 0% |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 13 | 0% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 13 | 0% |
| Q1 | Participant in an international cultural exchange program | 11 | 0% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 10 | 0% |
| TD | Spouse or child of TN | 10 | 0% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 9 | 0% |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 7 | 0% |
Immigrant visa classes, September 2025 (foreign state of chargeability)
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 392 | 33.2% |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 211 | 17.9% |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 114 | 9.6% |
| I5 | Investor pilot program (regional center) in targeted area, spouse and child (I51-I53) | 112 | 9.5% |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 80 | 6.8% |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 41 | 3.5% |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 38 | 3.2% |
| F2B | Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or daughter of lawful permanent resident, and child (F24, F25, C24, C25, B24, B25) | 37 | 3.1% |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 34 | 2.9% |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 32 | 2.7% |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 26 | 2.2% |
| EW | Employment third preference, other worker (subgroup numerical limit), spouse and child (EW3, EW4, EW5) | 14 | 1.2% |
| RR3 | Child of RR1 | 13 | 1.1% |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 10 | 0.8% |
| RR1 | Employment creation (EB-5) reserved visa, rural area, principal | 10 | 0.8% |
| CR2 | Child of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 8 | 0.7% |
| C5 | Employment creation (EB-5) outside targeted areas, spouse and child (C51-C53) | 4 | 0.3% |
| RR2 | Spouse of RR1 | 3 | 0.3% |
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 1 | 0.1% |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 1 | 0.1% |
Nonimmigrant issuances by fiscal year, Report of the Visa Office
| Fiscal year | All classes | Visitors (B) | Students, exchange (F, M, J) | Temporary workers | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | 2,626,584 | 2,228,750 | 334,199 | 37,619 | — |
| FY2016 | 2,264,412 | 1,991,647 | 205,642 | 45,656 | -14% |
| FY2017 | 1,689,893 | 1,454,271 | 169,300 | 45,610 | -25% |
| FY2018 | 1,464,810 | 1,243,515 | 153,976 | 48,510 | -13% |
| FY2019 | 1,255,992 | 1,021,730 | 160,136 | 50,551 | -14% |
| FY2020 | 316,450 | 258,886 | 26,847 | 21,559 | -75% |
| FY2021 | 108,646 | 2,153 | 94,917 | 5,408 | -66% |
| FY2022 | 161,189 | 70,228 | 71,269 | 12,993 | +48% |
| FY2023 | 417,008 | 268,656 | 100,652 | 36,862 | +159% |
| FY2024 | 818,727 | 649,238 | 101,788 | 51,143 | +96% |
Fiscal years run October to September. Every row is the Department's final annual detail table for that year; the visitor, student and worker columns add the table's class columns within one year. No monthly reports are summed.
Adjusted B-visa refusal rate by fiscal year
Dark bar: China - mainland. Grey bar: Asia median for the same year. The Department's rate covers B visas only; it counts each applicant once, in the status in which the fiscal year ended, so an applicant refused and later issued in the same year counts as an issuance. Source tables: FY2023, FY2024, FY2025.
U.S. posts in China - mainland
- Beijing: 20,445 nonimmigrant visas issued in Sep 2025, to applicants of all nationalities
- Chengdu: 0 nonimmigrant visas issued in Sep 2025, to applicants of all nationalities
- Guangzhou: 21,768 nonimmigrant visas issued in Sep 2025, to applicants of all nationalities
- Shanghai: 22,341 nonimmigrant visas issued in Sep 2025, to applicants of all nationalities
- Shenyang: 7,991 nonimmigrant visas issued in Sep 2025, to applicants of all nationalities
- Wuhan: 7,620 nonimmigrant visas issued in Sep 2025, to applicants of all nationalities
Questions and answers
What is the U.S. visa refusal rate for nationals of China - mainland?
The State Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (business and tourist) visas was 20.21% in FY2025 against a Asia median of 25.20%. The Department publishes this rate only for B visas and only by nationality; it counts each applicant once, by the status in which the year ended.
How many U.S. visas were issued to nationals of China - mainland last year?
818,727 nonimmigrant visas in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office, the Department's final annual figure. In September 2025, the latest monthly report, 92,098 were issued.
How does September 2025 compare with a year earlier for China - mainland?
92,098 nonimmigrant visas, up 30% on September 2024 (71,105). Months are compared one to one; the Department says its monthly reports should not be added together.
Which visa classes do nationals of China - mainland receive most?
B1/B2 (645,977), F1 (82,654), H1B (31,735), J1 (14,297) and C1/D (12,234) in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office.
How many DV lottery selectees did China - mainland have?
China - mainland does not appear in the Diversity Visa selectee lists on this site.
Where do nationals of China - mainland apply?
Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang and Wuhan are the U.S. posts in China - mainland. Nationals may also apply at posts elsewhere, subject to each post's rules, so the nationality figures on this page and the post figures are different counts.
Where does this data come from?
The State Department's monthly nonimmigrant and immigrant visa issuance tables by nationality, the annual Report of the Visa Office detail tables, the annual adjusted B-visa refusal rate tables and the Diversity Visa selectee pages. Data through 30 Sep 2025.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Monthly Nonimmigrant Visa Issuances by Nationality and Visa Class; Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuances by Foreign State of Chargeability or Place of Birth and Visa Class; Report of the Visa Office NIV detail tables (workbook); Adjusted Refusal Rate, B-Visas Only, by Nationality; Diversity Visa selected entrants pages. All public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.