Consulate Report

Months › March 2020

March 2020 · all posts · fiscal year 2020

U.S. visa issuances in March 2020

222 posts in the month's tables · nonimmigrant issuances -31% on Feb 2020

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.

U.S. posts issued 400,503 nonimmigrant visas in March 2020, fewer than the 578,893 of the previous month and -49% against the same month a year earlier (784,192).

24,383 immigrant visas were issued in the month, against 37,618 a year earlier.

The largest posts were Mexico City (37,304), Monterrey (36,662) and Sao Paulo (14,604); 222 posts appear in the month's tables.

B1/B2 at 50.5%, BBBCC at 19.9% and H2A at 6.7% made up the largest shares of the month's nonimmigrant issuances.

400,503nonimmigrant visas-49% vs Mar 2019
24,383immigrant visas-35% vs a year earlier
-31%vs Feb 2020578,893 then
50.5%share of B1/B2

← February 2020April 2020 →

Worldwide nonimmigrant issuances, 24 months to Mar 2020

0444,225888,450VisitorsStudents and exchange visitorsTemporary workersDiplomatic, official and international organisationTransit and crewOther nonimmigrant classesApr 2018Jul 2018Oct 2018Jan 2019Apr 2019Jul 2019Oct 2019Jan 2020Apr 2018: 859,147 (Visitors 643,408, Students and exchange visitors 70,905, Temporary workers 101,082, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 16,029, Transit and crew 24,786, Other nonimmigrant classes 2,937)May 2018: 888,450 (Visitors 650,161, Students and exchange visitors 112,513, Temporary workers 80,051, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 17,199, Transit and crew 25,225, Other nonimmigrant classes 3,301)Jun 2018: 882,279 (Visitors 624,514, Students and exchange visitors 128,895, Temporary workers 85,006, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 16,073, Transit and crew 24,665, Other nonimmigrant classes 3,126)Jul 2018: 884,357 (Visitors 613,653, Students and exchange visitors 141,304, Temporary workers 84,726, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 15,617, Transit and crew 26,095, Other nonimmigrant classes 2,962)Aug 2018: 824,176 (Visitors 618,184, Students and exchange visitors 75,488, Temporary workers 83,785, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 15,715, Transit and crew 27,830, Other nonimmigrant classes 3,174)Sep 2018: 620,175 (Visitors 488,328, Students and exchange visitors 26,025, Temporary workers 60,630, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 18,270, Transit and crew 24,130, Other nonimmigrant classes 2,792)Oct 2018: 699,265 (Visitors 564,123, Students and exchange visitors 26,875, Temporary workers 61,230, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 14,216, Transit and crew 29,744, Other nonimmigrant classes 3,077)Nov 2018: 634,246 (Visitors 489,433, Students and exchange visitors 38,840, Temporary workers 67,576, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 11,279, Transit and crew 24,329, Other nonimmigrant classes 2,789)Dec 2018: 605,652 (Visitors 444,233, Students and exchange visitors 52,715, Temporary workers 74,956, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 8,946, Transit and crew 22,110, Other nonimmigrant classes 2,692)Jan 2019: 685,917 (Visitors 528,521, Students and exchange visitors 36,895, Temporary workers 80,587, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 11,828, Transit and crew 25,092, Other nonimmigrant classes 2,994)Feb 2019: 628,837 (Visitors 495,945, Students and exchange visitors 23,880, Temporary workers 69,287, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 11,728, Transit and crew 24,611, Other nonimmigrant classes 3,386)Mar 2019: 784,192 (Visitors 598,448, Students and exchange visitors 44,475, Temporary workers 93,916, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 16,372, Transit and crew 26,911, Other nonimmigrant classes 4,070)Apr 2019: 808,859 (Visitors 594,891, Students and exchange visitors 76,459, Temporary workers 93,185, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 14,751, Transit and crew 25,982, Other nonimmigrant classes 3,591)May 2019: 857,267 (Visitors 611,197, Students and exchange visitors 116,438, Temporary workers 84,354, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 16,543, Transit and crew 24,466, Other nonimmigrant classes 4,269)Jun 2019: 782,583 (Visitors 515,297, Students and exchange visitors 128,342, Temporary workers 98,653, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 14,378, Transit and crew 21,696, Other nonimmigrant classes 4,217)Jul 2019: 810,378 (Visitors 542,277, Students and exchange visitors 136,399, Temporary workers 86,846, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 16,106, Transit and crew 24,445, Other nonimmigrant classes 4,305)Aug 2019: 742,031 (Visitors 539,204, Students and exchange visitors 76,364, Temporary workers 80,776, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 15,435, Transit and crew 25,947, Other nonimmigrant classes 4,305)Sep 2019: 646,938 (Visitors 503,868, Students and exchange visitors 25,705, Temporary workers 68,955, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 18,391, Transit and crew 26,260, Other nonimmigrant classes 3,759)Oct 2019: 710,468 (Visitors 562,206, Students and exchange visitors 27,405, Temporary workers 72,570, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 15,205, Transit and crew 29,023, Other nonimmigrant classes 4,059)Nov 2019: 613,287 (Visitors 465,801, Students and exchange visitors 38,705, Temporary workers 70,801, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 10,739, Transit and crew 23,903, Other nonimmigrant classes 3,338)Dec 2019: 650,760 (Visitors 465,750, Students and exchange visitors 56,480, Temporary workers 92,691, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 8,661, Transit and crew 23,746, Other nonimmigrant classes 3,432)Jan 2020: 670,211 (Visitors 508,665, Students and exchange visitors 34,569, Temporary workers 85,978, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 10,848, Transit and crew 26,940, Other nonimmigrant classes 3,211)Feb 2020: 578,893 (Visitors 441,686, Students and exchange visitors 23,108, Temporary workers 72,329, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 12,548, Transit and crew 26,150, Other nonimmigrant classes 3,072)Mar 2020: 400,503 (Visitors 287,273, Students and exchange visitors 18,321, Temporary workers 69,393, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 7,003, Transit and crew 16,557, Other nonimmigrant classes 1,956)
Nonimmigrant visas issued worldwide by month, stacked by broad class group.

VisitorsStudents and exchange visitorsTemporary workersDiplomatic, official and international organisationTransit and crewOther nonimmigrant classes

Largest posts in Mar 2020

PostCountryNonimmigrantImmigrantvs prior monthvs year earlier
Mexico CityMexico37,3040-15%-30%
MonterreyMexico36,6620+44%+4%
Sao PauloBrazil14,6040-27%-35%
MumbaiIndia13,8681,064-41%-38%
GuadalajaraMexico11,7660-26%-12%
ChennaiIndia11,7350-54%-44%
TijuanaMexico11,15300%+3%
ManilaPhilippines10,520763-47%-45%
BogotaColombia10,271474-46%-49%
New DelhiIndia8,94432-34%-44%
Buenos AiresArgentina7,53117-37%-60%
Ciudad JuarezMexico7,5054,014+4%+38%
HermosilloMexico7,3090-7%+1%
LondonUnited Kingdom6,869196-29%-56%
HyderabadIndia6,5760-49%-50%
MoscowRussia6,280279+1%-11%
Tel AvivIsrael6,0720-54%-55%
Santo DomingoDominican Republic6,0041,912-43%-33%
GuayaquilEcuador5,254183-39%-23%
Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam5,0982,594-29%-44%
LimaPeru4,673199-53%-55%
Nuevo LaredoMexico4,4020+35%+29%
IstanbulTurkey4,2570-19%-33%
San JoseCosta Rica3,95050-40%-36%
MatamorosMexico3,9390-7%-25%

Biggest movers on the previous month

Posts with at least 200 nonimmigrant issuances in both months. A move in the count is a move in visas issued; it does not by itself say anything about demand or approval rates.

Largest rises

PostFeb 2020Mar 2020Change
Monterrey25,46236,662+44%
Nuevo Laredo3,2504,402+35%
Munich740890+20%
Ciudad Juarez7,1967,505+4%
Moscow6,1986,280+1%
Tijuana11,10011,1530%
Abu Dhabi1,6061,587-1%
Durban466455-2%

Largest falls

PostFeb 2020Mar 2020Change
Jerusalem3,7181,403-62%
Lisbon677267-61%
Asuncion1,161461-60%
Ulaanbaatar669273-59%
Vladivostok978406-58%
Kolkata3,6231,566-57%
Baku704310-56%
Rome811360-56%

Visa classes in Mar 2020

Nonimmigrant

ClassIssuedShare
B1/B2 Temporary visitor for business and pleasure202,28750.5%
BBBCC Combination B-1/B-2 and Border Crossing Card79,82619.9%
H2A Temporary worker performing agricultural service26,9576.7%
C1/D Combined transit and crewmember visa15,3483.8%
H2B Temporary worker performing other services13,8463.5%
J1 Exchange visitor13,3143.3%
H1B Temporary worker of distinguished merit and abil7,1491.8%
H4 Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-35,5251.4%
A2 Other foreign government official or employee, o4,1051%
L2 Spouse or child of intracompany transferee3,4980.9%
L1 Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, 3,4330.9%
F1 Student in an academic or language training prog3,2720.8%
BBBCV Combination B-1/B-2 and Border Crossing Card (Li3,0500.8%
E2 Treaty investor, spouse or child2,1960.5%
B1 Temporary visitor for business1,6390.4%

Immigrant

ClassIssuedShare
IR1 Spouse of U.S. citizen4,40518.1%
IR5 Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age3,68415.1%
IR2 Child of U.S. citizen1,8737.7%
CR1 Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status)1,5506.4%
FX1 Immigrant visa class FX1 (no description in the 1,3385.5%
F43 Immigrant visa class F43 (no description in the 1,2385.1%
DV1 Immigrant visa class DV1 (no description in the 1,1534.7%
F41 Immigrant visa class F41 (no description in the 9193.8%
FX2 Immigrant visa class FX2 (no description in the 8793.6%
F42 Immigrant visa class F42 (no description in the 7032.9%
FX3 Immigrant visa class FX3 (no description in the 6942.8%
F24 Immigrant visa class F24 (no description in the 6082.5%

Mar in other years

MonthNonimmigrantImmigrant
Mar 2019784,19237,618
Mar 2020400,50324,383
Mar 2021260,49321,670
Mar 2022678,58647,555
Mar 20231,109,07964,714
Mar 2024962,73153,633
Mar 20251,006,22751,574

Questions and answers

How many U.S. visas were issued in March 2020?

400,503 nonimmigrant visas and 24,383 immigrant visas, according to the State Department's monthly tables, which the Department describes as preliminary.

Which posts issued the most visas in March 2020?

Mexico City (37,304), Monterrey (36,662), Sao Paulo (14,604), Mumbai (13,868) and Guadalajara (11,766).

Which posts changed most in March 2020?

Among posts with at least 200 issuances in both months, the largest rises on the previous month were Monterrey (+44%), Nuevo Laredo (+35%) and Munich (+20%) and the largest falls Jerusalem (-62%), Lisbon (-61%) and Asuncion (-60%).

Where does this data come from?

The State Department's monthly nonimmigrant and immigrant visa issuance tables by post and visa class for March 2020. Data through 30 Sep 2025.

Provenance

Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Monthly Nonimmigrant and Immigrant Visa Issuances by Post and Visa Class for March 2020, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.