Consulate Report

Months › January 2021

January 2021 · all posts · fiscal year 2021

U.S. visa issuances in January 2021

215 posts in the month's tables · nonimmigrant issuances -12% on Dec 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 138,544 nonimmigrant visas in January 2021, about the same as the 157,225 of the previous month and -79% against the same month a year earlier (670,211).

11,880 immigrant visas were issued in the month, against 43,136 a year earlier.

The largest posts were Monterrey (15,939), Mexico City (11,053) and Tijuana (7,605); 215 posts appear in the month's tables.

B1/B2 at 30.5%, BBBCC at 19.7% and H2A at 10.1% made up the largest shares of the month's nonimmigrant issuances.

138,544nonimmigrant visas-79% vs Jan 2020
11,880immigrant visas-72% vs a year earlier
-12%vs Dec 2020157,225 then
30.5%share of B1/B2

← December 2020February 2021 →

Worldwide nonimmigrant issuances, 24 months to Jan 2021

0428,634857,267VisitorsStudents and exchange visitorsTemporary workersDiplomatic, official and international organisationTransit and crewOther nonimmigrant classesFeb 2019May 2019Aug 2019Nov 2019Feb 2020May 2020Aug 2020Nov 2020Feb 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)Nov 2020: 124,500 (Visitors 62,078, Students and exchange visitors 16,842, Temporary workers 28,480, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 4,778, Transit and crew 11,055, Other nonimmigrant classes 1,267)Dec 2020: 157,225 (Visitors 76,210, Students and exchange visitors 31,006, Temporary workers 31,941, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 5,322, Transit and crew 11,316, Other nonimmigrant classes 1,430)Jan 2021: 138,544 (Visitors 71,119, Students and exchange visitors 14,974, Temporary workers 35,077, Diplomatic, official and international organisation 4,919, Transit and crew 10,887, Other nonimmigrant classes 1,568)
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 Jan 2021

PostCountryNonimmigrantImmigrantvs prior monthvs year earlier
MonterreyMexico15,9390-10%-33%
Mexico CityMexico11,0530-13%-79%
TijuanaMexico7,6050+37%-30%
ManilaPhilippines5,727940-6%-68%
New DelhiIndia5,18719-6%-66%
GuayaquilEcuador4,917126+95%-42%
MumbaiIndia3,888554-25%-85%
Santo DomingoDominican Republic3,812444-31%-64%
GuadalajaraMexico3,68700%-79%
QuitoEcuador3,2480-2%-56%
ChennaiIndia3,1190-33%-86%
Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam2,683509-33%-52%
Ciudad JuarezMexico2,632855+55%-65%
HyderabadIndia2,5630+74%-82%
LimaPeru2,39642-29%-76%
Guatemala CityGuatemala2,26139+467%-48%
San JoseCosta Rica2,05943-21%-70%
Nuevo LaredoMexico1,9800-23%-53%
TokyoJapan1,85569-34%-59%
SeoulSouth Korea1,783113-41%-71%
TegucigalpaHonduras1,75092+13%-52%
Tel AvivIsrael1,6600-22%-87%
KingstonJamaica1,576425-25%-43%
HermosilloMexico1,4660-49%-82%
BogotaColombia1,387119-21%-93%

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

PostDec 2020Jan 2021Change
Guatemala City3992,261+467%
Lagos363843+132%
Dubai341731+114%
Guayaquil2,5284,917+95%
Merida6111,187+94%
Nassau304559+84%
Hyderabad1,4722,563+74%
Johannesburg223374+68%

Largest falls

PostDec 2020Jan 2021Change
Bridgetown579260-55%
Kyiv841384-54%
Madrid1,068502-53%
Paris1,518717-53%
Brussels411203-51%
Moscow678329-51%
Hermosillo2,9001,466-49%
Seoul3,0251,783-41%

Visa classes in Jan 2021

Nonimmigrant

ClassIssuedShare
B1/B2 Temporary visitor for business and pleasure42,22730.5%
BBBCC Combination B-1/B-2 and Border Crossing Card27,25519.7%
H2A Temporary worker performing agricultural service13,93010.1%
C1/D Combined transit and crewmember visa10,2547.4%
F1 Student in an academic or language training prog9,3966.8%
H4 Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-35,0533.6%
H1B Temporary worker of distinguished merit and abil3,9912.9%
J1 Exchange visitor3,4912.5%
H2B Temporary worker performing other services3,4092.5%
A2 Other foreign government official or employee, o2,5361.8%
E2 Treaty investor, spouse or child1,9441.4%
TN NAFTA professional1,3631%
L2 Spouse or child of intracompany transferee1,3020.9%
K1 Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen1,2970.9%
L1 Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, 1,0010.7%

Immigrant

ClassIssuedShare
IR1 Spouse of U.S. citizen4,75140%
IR2 Child of U.S. citizen2,32519.6%
CR1 Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status)2,10617.7%
E31 Immigrant visa class E31 (no description in the 6585.5%
E35 Immigrant visa class E35 (no description in the 3743.1%
E34 Immigrant visa class E34 (no description in the 2642.2%
SQ3 Child of SQ12422%
CR2 Child of U.S. citizen (conditional status)2071.7%
IR5 Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age1381.2%
SB1 Returning resident1110.9%
FX1 Immigrant visa class FX1 (no description in the 910.8%
SQ1 Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on beha660.6%

Jan in other years

MonthNonimmigrantImmigrant
Jan 2019685,91739,557
Jan 2020670,21143,136
Jan 2021138,54411,880
Jan 2022414,38333,039
Jan 2023842,68944,495
Jan 2024875,16250,517
Jan 2025954,59554,288

Questions and answers

How many U.S. visas were issued in January 2021?

138,544 nonimmigrant visas and 11,880 immigrant visas, according to the State Department's monthly tables, which the Department describes as preliminary.

Which posts issued the most visas in January 2021?

Monterrey (15,939), Mexico City (11,053), Tijuana (7,605), Manila (5,727) and New Delhi (5,187).

Which posts changed most in January 2021?

Among posts with at least 200 issuances in both months, the largest rises on the previous month were Guatemala City (+467%), Lagos (+132%) and Dubai (+114%) and the largest falls Bridgetown (-55%), Kyiv (-54%) and Madrid (-53%).

Where does this data come from?

The State Department's monthly nonimmigrant and immigrant visa issuance tables by post and visa class for January 2021. 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 January 2021, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.