Nationalities › Panama
Panama · North America
U.S. visas issued to nationals of Panama
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, 5,645 nonimmigrant visas were issued to nationals of Panama, the 18th largest count among 203 nationalities that month; that is up 32% on September 2024 (4,272).
For the full fiscal year the Department's Report of the Visa Office lists 32,161 nonimmigrant visas issued to nationals of Panama in FY2024, 0.3% of the 10,969,936 issued worldwide and the 46th largest nationality of 197. The previous year's figure was 27,839 (FY2023).
The largest classes in September 2025 were B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 5,256, C1/D (combined transit and crewmember visa) with 143 and H2B (temporary worker performing other services) with 99. 32 immigrant visas were issued to applicants chargeable to Panama in the same month, led by IR1 (10) and IR2 (8).
The Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (visitor) visa applicants who are nationals of Panama was 6.51% in FY2025, below the North America median of 38.12%; it was 19.93% 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, 36 entrants chargeable to Panama were selected for DV-2026, 0% of all selectees that year; the count was 29 for DV-2025. 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 Panama (Panama City) issued 6,568 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, to applicants of all nationalities.
Nonimmigrant issuances by month
Compared with the North America region and the world
| Measure | Panama | North America (22 nationalities) | All nationalities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | 32,161 | 3,215,329 | 10,969,936 |
| Median nationality, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | — | 16,925 | 7,901 |
| Nonimmigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 5,645 | 251,623 | 823,557 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | +32% | — | -11% |
| Immigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 32 | — | 45,966 |
| B-visa adjusted refusal rate, FY2025 | 6.51% | 38.12% | 31.28% |
| DV-2026 selectees | 36 | — | 129,516 |
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 | 28,584 | 88.9% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 1,223 | 3.8% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 789 | 2.5% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 373 | 1.2% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 200 | 0.6% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 178 | 0.6% |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 123 | 0.4% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 70 | 0.2% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 69 | 0.2% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 65 | 0.2% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 65 | 0.2% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 62 | 0.2% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 49 | 0.2% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 37 | 0.1% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 33 | 0.1% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 28 | 0.1% |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 25 | 0.1% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 21 | 0.1% |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 19 | 0.1% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 18 | 0.1% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 18 | 0.1% |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 17 | 0.1% |
| H2A | Temporary worker performing agricultural services | 15 | 0% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 11 | 0% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 10 | 0% |
| P4 | Spouse or child of P-1, P-2, or P-3 | 10 | 0% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 10 | 0% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 8 | 0% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 7 | 0% |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 6 | 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 | 5,256 | 93.1% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 143 | 2.5% |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 99 | 1.8% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 60 | 1.1% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 24 | 0.4% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 23 | 0.4% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 8 | 0.1% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 4 | 0.1% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 4 | 0.1% |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 3 | 0.1% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 3 | 0.1% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 2 | 0% |
| H2A | Temporary worker performing agricultural services | 2 | 0% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 2 | 0% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 2 | 0% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 2 | 0% |
| B2 | Temporary visitor for pleasure | 1 | 0% |
| C4/D3 | Nonimmigrant visa class C4/D3 (no description in the Department's symbol list) | 1 | 0% |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 1 | 0% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 1 | 0% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 1 | 0% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 1 | 0% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 1 | 0% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 1 | 0% |
Immigrant visa classes, September 2025 (foreign state of chargeability)
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 10 | 31.3% |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 8 | 25% |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 5 | 15.6% |
| CR2 | Child of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 4 | 12.5% |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 2 | 6.3% |
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 1 | 3.1% |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 1 | 3.1% |
| IB1 | Self-petition spouse of U.S. citizen | 1 | 3.1% |
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 | 34,036 | 30,156 | 1,762 | 266 | — |
| FY2016 | 35,925 | 32,216 | 1,771 | 347 | +6% |
| FY2017 | 31,681 | 27,574 | 1,953 | 309 | -12% |
| FY2018 | 31,334 | 27,231 | 1,905 | 339 | -1% |
| FY2019 | 34,528 | 30,875 | 1,699 | 334 | +10% |
| FY2020 | 15,874 | 14,480 | 463 | 196 | -54% |
| FY2021 | 13,482 | 10,495 | 1,535 | 292 | -15% |
| FY2022 | 18,798 | 15,133 | 1,218 | 491 | +39% |
| FY2023 | 27,839 | 24,162 | 1,106 | 533 | +48% |
| FY2024 | 32,161 | 28,648 | 1,048 | 518 | +16% |
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: Panama. 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 Panama | Share of all selectees | All selectees |
|---|---|---|---|
| DV-2016 | 5 | 0% | 91,563 |
| DV-2017 | 12 | 0% | 83,910 |
| DV-2018 | 22 | 0% | 115,968 |
| DV-2019 | 3 | 0% | 87,610 |
| DV-2020 | 8 | 0% | 83,884 |
| DV-2021 | 10 | 0% | 132,404 |
| DV-2022 | 4 | 0% | 119,021 |
| DV-2023 | 11 | 0% | 119,262 |
| DV-2024 | 17 | 0% | 142,947 |
| DV-2025 | 29 | 0% | 131,060 |
| DV-2026 | 36 | 0% | 129,516 |
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 Panama
- Panama City: 6,568 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 Panama?
The State Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (business and tourist) visas was 6.51% 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 Panama last year?
32,161 nonimmigrant visas in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office, the Department's final annual figure. In September 2025, the latest monthly report, 5,645 were issued.
How does September 2025 compare with a year earlier for Panama?
5,645 nonimmigrant visas, up 32% on September 2024 (4,272). Months are compared one to one; the Department says its monthly reports should not be added together.
Which visa classes do nationals of Panama receive most?
B1/B2 (28,584), C1/D (1,223), F1 (789), A2 (373) and J1 (200) in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office.
How many DV lottery selectees did Panama have?
36 for DV-2026, 0% of all selectees. Earlier years: DV-2022 4, DV-2023 11, DV-2024 17, DV-2025 29. Being selected is not a visa; the Department selects more entrants than there are visas available.
Where do nationals of Panama apply?
Panama City is the U.S. post in Panama. 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.