Months › October 2020
October 2020 · all posts · fiscal year 2021
U.S. visa issuances in October 2020 216 posts in the month's tables · nonimmigrant issuances +12% on Sep 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 124,078 nonimmigrant visas in October 2020, about the same as the 111,034 of the previous month and -83% against the same month a year earlier (710,468).
8,687 immigrant visas were issued in the month, against 39,966 a year earlier.
The largest posts were Monterrey (20,949), Mexico City (10,822) and Tijuana (8,482); 216 posts appear in the month's tables.
BBBCC at 28.8%, B1/B2 at 24.5% and C1/D at 8.6% made up the largest shares of the month's nonimmigrant issuances.
124,078 nonimmigrant visas -83% vs Oct 2019
8,687 immigrant visas -78% vs a year earlier
+12% vs Sep 2020 111,034 then
28.8% share of BBBCC
Worldwide nonimmigrant issuances, 24 months to Oct 2020 0 428,634 857,267 Visitors Students and exchange visitors Temporary workers Diplomatic, official and international organisation Transit and crew Other nonimmigrant classes Nov 2018 Feb 2019 May 2019 Aug 2019 Nov 2019 Feb 2020 May 2020 Aug 2020 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) Apr 2020: 46,855 (Visitors 3,540, Students and exchange visitors 276, Temporary workers 41,308, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 754, Transit and crew 882, Other nonimmigrant classes 95) May 2020: 40,939 (Visitors 4,917, Students and exchange visitors 970, Temporary workers 31,275, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 1,578, Transit and crew 2,108, Other nonimmigrant classes 91) Jun 2020: 46,435 (Visitors 10,268, Students and exchange visitors 2,136, Temporary workers 26,064, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 4,368, Transit and crew 3,384, Other nonimmigrant classes 215) Jul 2020: 57,917 (Visitors 15,521, Students and exchange visitors 14,043, Temporary workers 16,819, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 5,091, Transit and crew 6,120, Other nonimmigrant classes 323) Aug 2020: 94,416 (Visitors 35,772, Students and exchange visitors 23,915, Temporary workers 23,883, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 4,625, Transit and crew 5,882, Other nonimmigrant classes 339) Sep 2020: 111,034 (Visitors 53,534, Students and exchange visitors 10,399, Temporary workers 32,560, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 5,549, Transit and crew 8,478, Other nonimmigrant classes 514) Oct 2020: 124,078 (Visitors 69,447, Students and exchange visitors 11,457, Temporary workers 25,855, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 5,586, Transit and crew 10,867, Other nonimmigrant classes 866) Nonimmigrant visas issued worldwide by month, stacked by broad class group.
Largest posts in Oct 2020 Post Country Nonimmigrant Immigrant vs prior month vs year earlier Monterrey Mexico 20,949 0 -4% -10% Mexico City Mexico 10,822 0 +22% -83% Tijuana Mexico 8,482 0 +18% -18% Manila Philippines 5,733 629 +30% -70% Guadalajara Mexico 4,009 0 -10% -75% Nuevo Laredo Mexico 3,575 0 +47% -10% Quito Ecuador 3,427 0 +9% -49% Santo Domingo Dominican Republic 3,052 414 +8% -66% Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam 3,011 366 +14% -60% Ciudad Juarez Mexico 2,837 677 -3% -63% Mumbai India 2,652 212 +41% -87% New Delhi India 2,252 22 -2% -82% Chennai India 2,155 0 +72% -88% Hermosillo Mexico 2,056 0 -17% -72% Tokyo Japan 1,975 153 +93% -54% Tegucigalpa Honduras 1,872 99 +55% -36% Seoul South Korea 1,765 138 +29% -61% Hyderabad India 1,613 0 +10% -89% Guayaquil Ecuador 1,507 117 +54% -82% San Salvador El Salvador 1,357 121 +87% -58% San Jose Costa Rica 1,284 57 +32% -81% Nogales Mexico 1,253 0 +83% -50% Jakarta Indonesia 1,190 15 +461% -77% Tel Aviv Israel 992 0 +5% -89% Kyiv Ukraine 977 93 +104% -78%
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.
Visa classes in Oct 2020 Nonimmigrant Class Issued Share BBBCC Combination B-1/B-2 and Border Crossing Card 35,740 28.8% B1/B2 Temporary visitor for business and pleasure 30,420 24.5% C1/D Combined transit and crewmember visa 10,622 8.6% H2A Temporary worker performing agricultural service 9,265 7.5% F1 Student in an academic or language training prog 8,285 6.7% H2B Temporary worker performing other services 5,614 4.5% E2 Treaty investor, spouse or child 2,881 2.3% A2 Other foreign government official or employee, o 2,619 2.1% BBBCV Combination B-1/B-2 and Border Crossing Card (Li 2,106 1.7% H4 Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 2,029 1.6% J1 Exchange visitor 1,690 1.4% TN NAFTA professional 1,224 1% B1 Temporary visitor for business 1,128 0.9% G4 International organization officer or employee, 1,112 0.9% H1B Temporary worker of distinguished merit and abil 947 0.8%
Immigrant Class Issued Share IR1 Spouse of U.S. citizen 3,295 37.9% IR2 Child of U.S. citizen 1,789 20.6% CR1 Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) 1,763 20.3% SQ3 Child of SQ1 252 2.9% E31 Immigrant visa class E31 (no description in the 200 2.3% IR5 Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age 198 2.3% CR2 Child of U.S. citizen (conditional status) 167 1.9% E35 Immigrant visa class E35 (no description in the 131 1.5% IH3 Child adopted abroad by U.S. citizen under Hague 125 1.4% E34 Immigrant visa class E34 (no description in the 100 1.2% SQ1 Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on beha 91 1% SQ2 Spouse of SQ1 81 0.9%
Oct in other years Month Nonimmigrant Immigrant Oct 2018 699,265 41,692 Oct 2019 710,468 39,966 Oct 2020 124,078 8,687 Oct 2021 296,442 36,245 Oct 2022 704,734 44,750 Oct 2023 885,241 46,695 Oct 2024 977,715 62,832
Questions and answers How many U.S. visas were issued in October 2020? 124,078 nonimmigrant visas and 8,687 immigrant visas, according to the State Department's monthly tables, which the Department describes as preliminary.
Which posts issued the most visas in October 2020? Monterrey (20,949), Mexico City (10,822), Tijuana (8,482), Manila (5,733) and Guadalajara (4,009).
Which posts changed most in October 2020? Among posts with at least 200 issuances in both months, the largest rises on the previous month were Jakarta (+461%), Lima (+154%) and Kyiv (+104%) and the largest falls Zagreb (-85%), Matamoros (-47%) and Auckland (-40%).
Where does this data come from? The State Department's monthly nonimmigrant and immigrant visa issuance tables by post and visa class for October 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 October 2020, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections .