Nationalities › Colombia
Colombia · South America
U.S. visas issued to nationals of Colombia
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, 47,867 nonimmigrant visas were issued to nationals of Colombia, the 5th largest count among 203 nationalities that month; that is up 22% on September 2024 (39,122).
For the full fiscal year the Department's Report of the Visa Office lists 473,250 nonimmigrant visas issued to nationals of Colombia in FY2024, 4.3% of the 10,969,936 issued worldwide and the 5th largest nationality of 197. The previous year's figure was 476,293 (FY2023).
The largest classes in September 2025 were B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 45,702, A2 (other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family) with 751 and J1 (exchange visitor) with 248. 638 immigrant visas were issued to applicants chargeable to Colombia in the same month, led by IR5 (126) and IR1 (97).
The Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (visitor) visa applicants who are nationals of Colombia was 32.84% in FY2025, above the South America median of 19.81%; it was 24.70% 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.
Colombia 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.
The U.S. post in Colombia (Bogota) issued 45,770 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, to applicants of all nationalities.
Nonimmigrant issuances by month
Compared with the South America region and the world
| Measure | Colombia | South America (12 nationalities) | All nationalities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | 473,250 | 2,533,633 | 10,969,936 |
| Median nationality, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | — | 66,418 | 7,901 |
| Nonimmigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 47,867 | 204,551 | 823,557 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | +22% | — | -11% |
| Immigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 638 | — | 45,966 |
| B-visa adjusted refusal rate, FY2025 | 32.84% | 19.81% | 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 | 437,463 | 92.4% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 12,658 | 2.7% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 4,197 | 0.9% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 3,956 | 0.8% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 2,555 | 0.5% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 1,863 | 0.4% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 959 | 0.2% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 906 | 0.2% |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 785 | 0.2% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 734 | 0.2% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 713 | 0.2% |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 623 | 0.1% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 608 | 0.1% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 595 | 0.1% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 517 | 0.1% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 505 | 0.1% |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 486 | 0.1% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 374 | 0.1% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 351 | 0.1% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 302 | 0.1% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 279 | 0.1% |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 245 | 0.1% |
| H2A | Temporary worker performing agricultural services | 244 | 0.1% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 202 | 0% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 173 | 0% |
| E1 | Treaty trader, spouse or child | 137 | 0% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 136 | 0% |
| P4 | Spouse or child of P-1, P-2, or P-3 | 105 | 0% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 96 | 0% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 96 | 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 | 45,702 | 95.5% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 751 | 1.6% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 248 | 0.5% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 237 | 0.5% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 155 | 0.3% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 70 | 0.1% |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 68 | 0.1% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 68 | 0.1% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 63 | 0.1% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 49 | 0.1% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 48 | 0.1% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 41 | 0.1% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 40 | 0.1% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 39 | 0.1% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 33 | 0.1% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 33 | 0.1% |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 29 | 0.1% |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 24 | 0.1% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 23 | 0% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 19 | 0% |
| H2A | Temporary worker performing agricultural services | 19 | 0% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 19 | 0% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 18 | 0% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 16 | 0% |
| E1 | Treaty trader, spouse or child | 11 | 0% |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 10 | 0% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 9 | 0% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 6 | 0% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 5 | 0% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 4 | 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 | 126 | 19.7% |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 97 | 15.2% |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 75 | 11.8% |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 58 | 9.1% |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 55 | 8.6% |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 54 | 8.5% |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 54 | 8.5% |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 40 | 6.3% |
| F2B | Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or daughter of lawful permanent resident, and child (F24, F25, C24, C25, B24, B25) | 28 | 4.4% |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 25 | 3.9% |
| CR2 | Child of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 10 | 1.6% |
| IH3 | Child adopted abroad by U.S. citizen under Hague Convention | 10 | 1.6% |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 3 | 0.5% |
| SB1 | Returning resident | 2 | 0.3% |
| IW | Certain spouses of deceased U.S. citizens, and their children (IW1, IW2) | 1 | 0.2% |
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 | 368,358 | 345,848 | 11,984 | 3,506 | — |
| FY2016 | 397,086 | 375,048 | 10,975 | 3,840 | +8% |
| FY2017 | 355,777 | 334,036 | 11,464 | 3,507 | -10% |
| FY2018 | 235,410 | 212,422 | 12,554 | 3,732 | -34% |
| FY2019 | 217,329 | 192,056 | 14,077 | 4,135 | -8% |
| FY2020 | 97,238 | 87,425 | 4,631 | 1,896 | -55% |
| FY2021 | 54,452 | 33,240 | 13,828 | 2,300 | -44% |
| FY2022 | 161,063 | 126,519 | 20,022 | 5,789 | +196% |
| FY2023 | 476,293 | 441,463 | 18,504 | 6,753 | +196% |
| FY2024 | 473,250 | 437,784 | 17,776 | 7,491 | -1% |
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: Colombia. Grey bar: South America 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 Colombia
- Bogota: 45,770 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 Colombia?
The State Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (business and tourist) visas was 32.84% in FY2025 against a South America median of 19.81%. 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 Colombia last year?
473,250 nonimmigrant visas in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office, the Department's final annual figure. In September 2025, the latest monthly report, 47,867 were issued.
How does September 2025 compare with a year earlier for Colombia?
47,867 nonimmigrant visas, up 22% on September 2024 (39,122). Months are compared one to one; the Department says its monthly reports should not be added together.
Which visa classes do nationals of Colombia receive most?
B1/B2 (437,463), J1 (12,658), A2 (4,197), F1 (3,956) and C1/D (2,555) in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office.
How many DV lottery selectees did Colombia have?
Colombia does not appear in the Diversity Visa selectee lists on this site.
Where do nationals of Colombia apply?
Bogota is the U.S. post in Colombia. 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.