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Korea, South · Asia
U.S. visas issued to nationals of Korea, South
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, 4,405 nonimmigrant visas were issued to nationals of Korea, South, the 27th largest count among 203 nationalities that month; that is up 24% on September 2024 (3,559).
For the full fiscal year the Department's Report of the Visa Office lists 74,828 nonimmigrant visas issued to nationals of Korea, South in FY2024, 0.7% of the 10,969,936 issued worldwide and the 24th largest nationality of 197. The previous year's figure was 70,039 (FY2023).
The largest classes in September 2025 were B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 1,213, E2 (treaty investor, spouse or child) with 476 and C1/D (combined transit and crewmember visa) with 446. 305 immigrant visas were issued to applicants chargeable to Korea, South in the same month, led by I5 (95) and IR1 (57).
The Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (visitor) visa applicants who are nationals of Korea, South was 24.73% in FY2025, close to the Asia median of 25.20%; it was 14.97% 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.
Korea, South 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 Korea, South (Seoul) issued 4,351 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, to applicants of all nationalities.
Nonimmigrant issuances by month
Compared with the Asia region and the world
| Measure | Korea, South | Asia (40 nationalities) | All nationalities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | 74,828 | 3,601,133 | 10,969,936 |
| Median nationality, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | — | 17,838 | 7,901 |
| Nonimmigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 4,405 | 271,934 | 823,557 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | +24% | — | -11% |
| Immigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 305 | — | 45,966 |
| B-visa adjusted refusal rate, FY2025 | 24.73% | 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 | 15,495 | 20.7% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 14,786 | 19.8% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 9,309 | 12.4% |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 6,778 | 9.1% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 5,434 | 7.3% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 3,628 | 4.8% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 3,530 | 4.7% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 3,161 | 4.2% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 2,996 | 4% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 2,289 | 3.1% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 1,543 | 2.1% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 1,372 | 1.8% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 747 | 1% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 728 | 1% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 564 | 0.8% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 302 | 0.4% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 285 | 0.4% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 231 | 0.3% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 229 | 0.3% |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 206 | 0.3% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 201 | 0.3% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 198 | 0.3% |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 161 | 0.2% |
| CW1 | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands transitional worker | 132 | 0.2% |
| E1 | Treaty trader, spouse or child | 126 | 0.2% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 99 | 0.1% |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 77 | 0.1% |
| CW2 | Spouse or child of CW-1 | 39 | 0.1% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 31 | 0% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 30 | 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 | 1,213 | 27.5% |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 476 | 10.8% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 446 | 10.1% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 347 | 7.9% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 296 | 6.7% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 279 | 6.3% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 251 | 5.7% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 229 | 5.2% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 190 | 4.3% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 165 | 3.7% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 155 | 3.5% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 72 | 1.6% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 55 | 1.2% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 51 | 1.2% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 31 | 0.7% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 28 | 0.6% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 22 | 0.5% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 18 | 0.4% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 17 | 0.4% |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 13 | 0.3% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 12 | 0.3% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 10 | 0.2% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 5 | 0.1% |
| CW1 | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands transitional worker | 4 | 0.1% |
| CW2 | Spouse or child of CW-1 | 3 | 0.1% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 3 | 0.1% |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 3 | 0.1% |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 3 | 0.1% |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 2 | 0% |
| E1 | Treaty trader, spouse or child | 2 | 0% |
Immigrant visa classes, September 2025 (foreign state of chargeability)
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| I5 | Investor pilot program (regional center) in targeted area, spouse and child (I51-I53) | 95 | 31.1% |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 57 | 18.7% |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 44 | 14.4% |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 39 | 12.8% |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 20 | 6.6% |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 9 | 3% |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 9 | 3% |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 8 | 2.6% |
| F2B | Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or daughter of lawful permanent resident, and child (F24, F25, C24, C25, B24, B25) | 7 | 2.3% |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 6 | 2% |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 3 | 1% |
| RU3 | Child of RU1 | 2 | 0.7% |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 1 | 0.3% |
| IR3 | Orphan adopted abroad by U.S. citizen | 1 | 0.3% |
| RH1 | Employment creation (EB-5) reserved visa, high unemployment area, regional center, principal | 1 | 0.3% |
| RU1 | Employment creation (EB-5) reserved visa, high unemployment area, principal | 1 | 0.3% |
| RU2 | Spouse of RU1 | 1 | 0.3% |
| T5 | Employment creation (EB-5) in targeted rural or high unemployment area, spouse and child (T51-T53) | 1 | 0.3% |
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 | 73,402 | 8,108 | 45,128 | 13,055 | — |
| FY2016 | 77,370 | 13,393 | 43,242 | 12,549 | +5% |
| FY2017 | 79,107 | 17,410 | 40,335 | 12,273 | +2% |
| FY2018 | 74,988 | 15,819 | 38,379 | 12,120 | -5% |
| FY2019 | 76,025 | 14,460 | 39,175 | 13,248 | +1% |
| FY2020 | 37,561 | 6,080 | 18,904 | 7,161 | -51% |
| FY2021 | 43,555 | 3,229 | 25,368 | 10,141 | +16% |
| FY2022 | 59,564 | 5,714 | 33,076 | 15,001 | +37% |
| FY2023 | 70,039 | 9,208 | 31,840 | 20,586 | +18% |
| FY2024 | 74,828 | 15,508 | 29,472 | 20,420 | +7% |
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: Korea, South. 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 Korea, South
- Seoul: 4,351 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 Korea, South?
The State Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (business and tourist) visas was 24.73% 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 Korea, South last year?
74,828 nonimmigrant visas in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office, the Department's final annual figure. In September 2025, the latest monthly report, 4,405 were issued.
How does September 2025 compare with a year earlier for Korea, South?
4,405 nonimmigrant visas, up 24% on September 2024 (3,559). Months are compared one to one; the Department says its monthly reports should not be added together.
Which visa classes do nationals of Korea, South receive most?
B1/B2 (15,495), F1 (14,786), J1 (9,309), E2 (6,778) and C1/D (5,434) in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office.
How many DV lottery selectees did Korea, South have?
Korea, South does not appear in the Diversity Visa selectee lists on this site.
Where do nationals of Korea, South apply?
Seoul is the U.S. post in Korea, South. 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.