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Sri Lanka · Asia
U.S. visas issued to nationals of Sri Lanka
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, 853 nonimmigrant visas were issued to nationals of Sri Lanka, the 71st largest count among 203 nationalities that month; that is down 20% on September 2024 (1,062).
For the full fiscal year the Department's Report of the Visa Office lists 13,809 nonimmigrant visas issued to nationals of Sri Lanka in FY2024, 0.1% of the 10,969,936 issued worldwide and the 74th largest nationality of 197. The previous year's figure was 17,616 (FY2023).
The largest classes in September 2025 were B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 598, C1/D (combined transit and crewmember visa) with 79 and A2 (other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family) with 67. 180 immigrant visas were issued to applicants chargeable to Sri Lanka in the same month, led by DV (105) and F4 (22).
The Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (visitor) visa applicants who are nationals of Sri Lanka was 33.35% in FY2025, above the Asia median of 25.20%; it was 29.76% 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, 1,028 entrants chargeable to Sri Lanka were selected for DV-2026, 0.8% of all selectees that year; the count was 1,618 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 Sri Lanka (Colombo) issued 656 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, to applicants of all nationalities.
Nonimmigrant issuances by month
Compared with the Asia region and the world
| Measure | Sri Lanka | Asia (40 nationalities) | All nationalities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | 13,809 | 3,601,133 | 10,969,936 |
| Median nationality, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | — | 17,838 | 7,901 |
| Nonimmigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 853 | 271,934 | 823,557 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | -20% | — | -11% |
| Immigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 180 | — | 45,966 |
| B-visa adjusted refusal rate, FY2025 | 33.35% | 25.20% | 31.28% |
| DV-2026 selectees | 1,028 | — | 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 | 10,233 | 74.1% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 931 | 6.7% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 787 | 5.7% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 351 | 2.5% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 182 | 1.3% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 172 | 1.2% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 130 | 0.9% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 115 | 0.8% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 102 | 0.7% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 98 | 0.7% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 94 | 0.7% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 89 | 0.6% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 80 | 0.6% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 64 | 0.5% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 53 | 0.4% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 53 | 0.4% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 48 | 0.3% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 45 | 0.3% |
| A3 | Attendant, servant, or personal employee of A1 or A2, or immediate family | 33 | 0.2% |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 30 | 0.2% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 27 | 0.2% |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 19 | 0.1% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 15 | 0.1% |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 11 | 0.1% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 11 | 0.1% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 8 | 0.1% |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 5 | 0% |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 5 | 0% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 4 | 0% |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 3 | 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 | 598 | 70.1% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 79 | 9.3% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 67 | 7.9% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 14 | 1.6% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 13 | 1.5% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 11 | 1.3% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 11 | 1.3% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 9 | 1.1% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 9 | 1.1% |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 8 | 0.9% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 7 | 0.8% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 5 | 0.6% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 4 | 0.5% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 3 | 0.4% |
| A3 | Attendant, servant, or personal employee of A1 or A2, or immediate family | 3 | 0.4% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 3 | 0.4% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 2 | 0.2% |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 2 | 0.2% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 2 | 0.2% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 1 | 0.1% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 1 | 0.1% |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 1 | 0.1% |
Immigrant visa classes, September 2025 (foreign state of chargeability)
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 105 | 58.3% |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 22 | 12.2% |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 22 | 12.2% |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 10 | 5.6% |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 8 | 4.4% |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 7 | 3.9% |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 4 | 2.2% |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 2 | 1.1% |
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 | 14,337 | 10,200 | 1,312 | 725 | — |
| FY2016 | 14,881 | 11,102 | 1,243 | 612 | +4% |
| FY2017 | 16,961 | 12,692 | 1,213 | 585 | +14% |
| FY2018 | 13,687 | 10,288 | 956 | 617 | -19% |
| FY2019 | 11,794 | 8,956 | 759 | 535 | -14% |
| FY2020 | 4,745 | 3,503 | 289 | 237 | -60% |
| FY2021 | 2,624 | 1,039 | 748 | 100 | -45% |
| FY2022 | 10,954 | 7,512 | 1,288 | 635 | +317% |
| FY2023 | 17,616 | 13,345 | 1,356 | 801 | +61% |
| FY2024 | 13,809 | 10,278 | 1,157 | 655 | -22% |
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: Sri Lanka. 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.
Diversity Visa selectees by program year
| Program year | Selectees chargeable to Sri Lanka | Share of all selectees | All selectees |
|---|---|---|---|
| DV-2016 | 704 | 0.8% | 91,563 |
| DV-2017 | 375 | 0.4% | 83,910 |
| DV-2018 | 777 | 0.7% | 115,968 |
| DV-2019 | 784 | 0.9% | 87,610 |
| DV-2020 | 765 | 0.9% | 83,884 |
| DV-2021 | 1,566 | 1.2% | 132,404 |
| DV-2022 | 838 | 0.7% | 119,021 |
| DV-2023 | 2,019 | 1.7% | 119,262 |
| DV-2024 | 2,622 | 1.8% | 142,947 |
| DV-2025 | 1,618 | 1.2% | 131,060 |
| DV-2026 | 1,028 | 0.8% | 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 Sri Lanka
- Colombo: 656 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 Sri Lanka?
The State Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (business and tourist) visas was 33.35% 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 Sri Lanka last year?
13,809 nonimmigrant visas in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office, the Department's final annual figure. In September 2025, the latest monthly report, 853 were issued.
How does September 2025 compare with a year earlier for Sri Lanka?
853 nonimmigrant visas, down 20% on September 2024 (1,062). Months are compared one to one; the Department says its monthly reports should not be added together.
Which visa classes do nationals of Sri Lanka receive most?
B1/B2 (10,233), C1/D (931), F1 (787), A2 (351) and H1B (182) in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office.
How many DV lottery selectees did Sri Lanka have?
1,028 for DV-2026, 0.8% of all selectees. Earlier years: DV-2022 838, DV-2023 2,019, DV-2024 2,622, DV-2025 1,618. Being selected is not a visa; the Department selects more entrants than there are visas available.
Where do nationals of Sri Lanka apply?
Colombo is the U.S. post in Sri Lanka. 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.