Nationalities › Nigeria
Nigeria · Africa
U.S. visas issued to nationals of Nigeria
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 Nigeria were issued 1,822 U.S. nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, down 78% on September 2024 (8,240), the 48th largest nationality of 203 in the month's table.
For the full fiscal year the Department's Report of the Visa Office lists 87,279 nonimmigrant visas issued to nationals of Nigeria in FY2024, 0.8% of the 10,969,936 issued worldwide and the 18th largest nationality of 197. The previous year's figure was 113,695 (FY2023).
The largest classes in September 2025 were B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 1,195, G2 (other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family) with 104 and F1 (student in an academic or language training program) with 94. 1,010 immigrant visas were issued to applicants chargeable to Nigeria in the same month, led by F1 (174) and IR2 (159).
The Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (visitor) visa applicants who are nationals of Nigeria was 57.00% in FY2025, close to the Africa median of 55.57%; it was 46.51% 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.
Nigeria 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.
2 U.S. posts in Nigeria (Abuja and Lagos) issued 1,198 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, to applicants of all nationalities.
Nonimmigrant issuances by month
Compared with the Africa region and the world
| Measure | Nigeria | Africa (54 nationalities) | All nationalities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | 87,279 | 539,434 | 10,969,936 |
| Median nationality, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | — | 2,955 | 7,901 |
| Nonimmigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 1,822 | 23,471 | 823,557 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | -78% | — | -11% |
| Immigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 1,010 | — | 45,966 |
| B-visa adjusted refusal rate, FY2025 | 57.00% | 55.57% | 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 | 72,463 | 83% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 6,175 | 7.1% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 1,433 | 1.6% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 984 | 1.1% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 962 | 1.1% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 880 | 1% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 768 | 0.9% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 498 | 0.6% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 469 | 0.5% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 421 | 0.5% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 264 | 0.3% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 256 | 0.3% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 222 | 0.3% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 214 | 0.2% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 208 | 0.2% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 154 | 0.2% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 145 | 0.2% |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 101 | 0.1% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 81 | 0.1% |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 80 | 0.1% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 71 | 0.1% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 64 | 0.1% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 59 | 0.1% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 56 | 0.1% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 54 | 0.1% |
| C2 | Alien in transit to United Nations Headquarters district | 52 | 0.1% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 51 | 0.1% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 24 | 0% |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 19 | 0% |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 14 | 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 | 1,195 | 65.6% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 104 | 5.7% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 94 | 5.2% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 90 | 4.9% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 73 | 4% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 45 | 2.5% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 43 | 2.4% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 36 | 2% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 19 | 1% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 17 | 0.9% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 14 | 0.8% |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 14 | 0.8% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 12 | 0.7% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 10 | 0.5% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 8 | 0.4% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 6 | 0.3% |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 6 | 0.3% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 5 | 0.3% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 5 | 0.3% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 4 | 0.2% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 4 | 0.2% |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 4 | 0.2% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 3 | 0.2% |
| C2 | Alien in transit to United Nations Headquarters district | 2 | 0.1% |
| D | Crewmember (sea or air) | 2 | 0.1% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 2 | 0.1% |
| A3 | Attendant, servant, or personal employee of A1 or A2, or immediate family | 1 | 0.1% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 1 | 0.1% |
| G5 | Attendant, servant, or personal employee of G1 through G4, and immediate family | 1 | 0.1% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 1 | 0.1% |
Immigrant visa classes, September 2025 (foreign state of chargeability)
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 174 | 17.2% |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 159 | 15.7% |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 157 | 15.5% |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 143 | 14.2% |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 142 | 14.1% |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 93 | 9.2% |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 65 | 6.4% |
| F2B | Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or daughter of lawful permanent resident, and child (F24, F25, C24, C25, B24, B25) | 32 | 3.2% |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 12 | 1.2% |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 10 | 1% |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 7 | 0.7% |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 6 | 0.6% |
| IB1 | Self-petition spouse of U.S. citizen | 3 | 0.3% |
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 2 | 0.2% |
| IR3 | Orphan adopted abroad by U.S. citizen | 2 | 0.2% |
| SB1 | Returning resident | 2 | 0.2% |
| IW | Certain spouses of deceased U.S. citizens, and their children (IW1, IW2) | 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 | 156,147 | 144,011 | 7,729 | 1,429 | — |
| FY2016 | 179,145 | 165,734 | 8,767 | 1,224 | +15% |
| FY2017 | 168,980 | 156,104 | 8,740 | 1,328 | -6% |
| FY2018 | 143,783 | 132,316 | 7,362 | 1,368 | -15% |
| FY2019 | 92,471 | 81,893 | 6,131 | 1,269 | -36% |
| FY2020 | 32,787 | 28,784 | 1,733 | 598 | -65% |
| FY2021 | 24,726 | 13,647 | 8,046 | 789 | -25% |
| FY2022 | 84,557 | 69,047 | 10,501 | 1,812 | +242% |
| FY2023 | 113,695 | 97,151 | 10,674 | 2,400 | +34% |
| FY2024 | 87,279 | 72,534 | 8,694 | 2,496 | -23% |
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: Nigeria. Grey bar: Africa 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 Nigeria
- Abuja: 682 nonimmigrant visas issued in Sep 2025, to applicants of all nationalities
- Lagos: 516 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 Nigeria?
The State Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (business and tourist) visas was 57.00% in FY2025 against a Africa median of 55.57%. 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 Nigeria last year?
87,279 nonimmigrant visas in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office, the Department's final annual figure. In September 2025, the latest monthly report, 1,822 were issued.
How does September 2025 compare with a year earlier for Nigeria?
1,822 nonimmigrant visas, down 78% on September 2024 (8,240). Months are compared one to one; the Department says its monthly reports should not be added together.
Which visa classes do nationals of Nigeria receive most?
B1/B2 (72,463), F1 (6,175), J1 (1,433), K1 (984) and A2 (962) in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office.
How many DV lottery selectees did Nigeria have?
Nigeria does not appear in the Diversity Visa selectee lists on this site.
Where do nationals of Nigeria apply?
Abuja and Lagos are the U.S. posts in Nigeria. 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.