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Cuba · North America
U.S. visas issued to nationals of Cuba
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.
Nationals of Cuba were issued 62 U.S. nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, down 94% on September 2024 (1,058), the 152nd largest nationality of 203 in the month's table.
For the full fiscal year the Department's Report of the Visa Office lists 12,234 nonimmigrant visas issued to nationals of Cuba in FY2024, 0.1% of the 10,969,936 issued worldwide and the 77th largest nationality of 197. The previous year's figure was 6,146 (FY2023).
The largest classes in September 2025 were A1 (ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family) with 17, G2 (other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family) with 12 and P1 (internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group) with 9. 867 immigrant visas were issued to applicants chargeable to Cuba in the same month, led by IR5 (688) and IR2 (110).
The Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (visitor) visa applicants who are nationals of Cuba was 70.86% in FY2025, above the North America median of 38.12%; it was 53.35% 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.
In the Diversity Visa program, 2,348 entrants chargeable to Cuba were selected for DV-2025, 1.8% of all selectees that year; the count was 3,081 for DV-2024. Selection is not a visa; the Department's pages explain that selectees must still qualify and that more are selected than there are visas.
The U.S. post in Cuba (Havana) issued 48 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, to applicants of all nationalities.
Nonimmigrant issuances by month
Compared with the North America region and the world
| Measure | Cuba | North America (22 nationalities) | All nationalities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | 12,234 | 3,215,329 | 10,969,936 |
| Median nationality, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | — | 16,925 | 7,901 |
| Nonimmigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 62 | 251,623 | 823,557 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | -94% | — | -11% |
| Immigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 867 | — | 45,966 |
| B-visa adjusted refusal rate, FY2025 | 70.86% | 38.12% | 31.28% |
| DV-2025 selectees | 2,348 | — | 131,060 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2 | Temporary visitor for pleasure | 7,668 | 62.7% |
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 1,832 | 15% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 1,083 | 8.9% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 673 | 5.5% |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 214 | 1.7% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 119 | 1% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 101 | 0.8% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 100 | 0.8% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 97 | 0.8% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 75 | 0.6% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 54 | 0.4% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 49 | 0.4% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 33 | 0.3% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 17 | 0.1% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 16 | 0.1% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 15 | 0.1% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 13 | 0.1% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 13 | 0.1% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 9 | 0.1% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 6 | 0% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 6 | 0% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 6 | 0% |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 6 | 0% |
| P4 | Spouse or child of P-1, P-2, or P-3 | 5 | 0% |
| A3 | Attendant, servant, or personal employee of A1 or A2, or immediate family | 4 | 0% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 4 | 0% |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 4 | 0% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 3 | 0% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 3 | 0% |
| NATO5 | Experts, other than NATO-4 officials, employed in missions on behalf of NATO, and their dependents | 2 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 17 | 27.4% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 12 | 19.4% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 9 | 14.5% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 6 | 9.7% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 4 | 6.5% |
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 3 | 4.8% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 2 | 3.2% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 1 | 1.6% |
| BBBCC | Combination B-1/B-2 and Border Crossing Card | 1 | 1.6% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 1 | 1.6% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 1 | 1.6% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 1 | 1.6% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 1 | 1.6% |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 1 | 1.6% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 1 | 1.6% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 1 | 1.6% |
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 | 688 | 79.4% |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 110 | 12.7% |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 36 | 4.2% |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 14 | 1.6% |
| CR2 | Child of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 5 | 0.6% |
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 4 | 0.5% |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 3 | 0.3% |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 2 | 0.2% |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 2 | 0.2% |
| IW | Certain spouses of deceased U.S. citizens, and their children (IW1, IW2) | 2 | 0.2% |
| SB1 | Returning resident | 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 | 22,797 | 21,161 | 99 | 522 | — |
| FY2016 | 14,291 | 12,218 | 178 | 914 | -37% |
| FY2017 | 16,335 | 13,976 | 174 | 1,301 | +14% |
| FY2018 | 6,959 | 4,918 | 125 | 867 | -57% |
| FY2019 | 10,167 | 8,490 | 138 | 634 | +46% |
| FY2020 | 2,618 | 1,738 | 51 | 342 | -74% |
| FY2021 | 1,327 | 570 | 87 | 103 | -49% |
| FY2022 | 3,001 | 1,733 | 156 | 365 | +126% |
| FY2023 | 6,146 | 4,060 | 174 | 403 | +105% |
| FY2024 | 12,234 | 10,583 | 101 | 271 | +99% |
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: Cuba. Grey bar: North 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.
Diversity Visa selectees by program year
| Program year | Selectees chargeable to Cuba | Share of all selectees | All selectees |
|---|---|---|---|
| DV-2016 | 1,488 | 1.6% | 91,563 |
| DV-2017 | 493 | 0.6% | 83,910 |
| DV-2018 | 733 | 0.6% | 115,968 |
| DV-2019 | 326 | 0.4% | 87,610 |
| DV-2020 | 2,703 | 3.2% | 83,884 |
| DV-2021 | 1,235 | 0.9% | 132,404 |
| DV-2022 | 975 | 0.8% | 119,021 |
| DV-2023 | 1,358 | 1.1% | 119,262 |
| DV-2024 | 3,081 | 2.2% | 142,947 |
| DV-2025 | 2,348 | 1.8% | 131,060 |
Counts of selected entrants as published on the Department's "selected entrants" pages; no names are published or held. Selection is not a visa: the Department selects more entrants than visas available, and DV visas are issued only to selectees who qualify before the program year ends.
U.S. posts in Cuba
- Havana: 48 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 Cuba?
The State Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (business and tourist) visas was 70.86% in FY2025 against a North America median of 38.12%. 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 Cuba last year?
12,234 nonimmigrant visas in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office, the Department's final annual figure. In September 2025, the latest monthly report, 62 were issued.
How does September 2025 compare with a year earlier for Cuba?
62 nonimmigrant visas, down 94% on September 2024 (1,058). Months are compared one to one; the Department says its monthly reports should not be added together.
Which visa classes do nationals of Cuba receive most?
B2 (7,668), B1/B2 (1,832), B1 (1,083), K1 (673) and K2 (214) in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office.
How many DV lottery selectees did Cuba have?
2,348 for DV-2025, 1.8% of all selectees. Earlier years: DV-2021 1,235, DV-2022 975, DV-2023 1,358, DV-2024 3,081. Being selected is not a visa; the Department selects more entrants than there are visas available.
Where do nationals of Cuba apply?
Havana is the U.S. post in Cuba. 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.