U.S. visa issuances in March 2023

218 posts in the month's tables · nonimmigrant issuances +30% on Feb 2023

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 1,109,079 nonimmigrant visas in March 2023, more than the 853,572 of the previous month and +63% against the same month a year earlier (678,586).

64,714 immigrant visas were issued in the month, against 47,555 a year earlier.

The largest posts were Monterrey (77,539), Guadalajara (62,286) and Bogota (54,532); 218 posts appear in the month's tables.

B1/B2 at 57.5%, BBBCC at 17.3% and H2A at 4.7% made up the largest shares of the month's nonimmigrant issuances.

1,109,079nonimmigrant visas+63% vs Mar 2022

64,714immigrant visas+36% vs a year earlier

+30%vs Feb 2023853,572 then

57.5%share of B1/B2

Worldwide nonimmigrant issuances, 24 months to Mar 2023

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 2023

Post	Country	Nonimmigrant	Immigrant	vs prior month	vs year earlier
Monterrey	Mexico	77,539	0	+37%	+9%
Guadalajara	Mexico	62,286	0	+24%	+185%
Bogota	Colombia	54,532	972	+55%	+190%
Mexico City	Mexico	49,950	0	+6%	+15%
Mumbai	India	45,310	3,151	+4%	+281%
Sao Paulo	Brazil	45,218	0	+44%	+45%
Chennai	India	36,915	0	+32%	+135%
New Delhi	India	36,084	54	+47%	+26%
Ciudad Juarez	Mexico	27,579	8,351	+31%	+174%
Manila	Philippines	27,273	3,735	+39%	+51%
Buenos Aires	Argentina	25,716	105	+26%	+49%
Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	23,821	505	+24%	+46%
Tijuana	Mexico	22,620	0	+26%	+42%
Beijing	China	19,421	0	+169%	+1078%
Tel Aviv	Israel	18,727	0	+31%	+53%
London	United Kingdom	17,759	419	+36%	+42%
Brasilia	Brazil	16,848	0	+81%	+58%
Santo Domingo	Dominican Republic	14,511	6,664	+54%	+35%
Guayaquil	Ecuador	14,051	614	+35%	+184%
Kingston	Jamaica	12,584	1,311	+78%	+86%
Quito	Ecuador	12,047	0	+15%	+21%
Hermosillo	Mexico	10,915	0	+19%	+61%
Lima	Peru	10,297	1,075	+88%	+67%
Nuevo Laredo	Mexico	9,602	0	+20%	+205%
Porto Alegre	Brazil	9,544	0	+53%	+21%

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

Post	Feb 2023	Mar 2023	Change
Shanghai	3,476	9,392	+170%
Beijing	7,217	19,421	+169%
Zagreb	281	639	+127%
Montevideo	1,483	3,229	+118%
Praia	285	578	+103%
Ankara	2,182	4,365	+100%
Sarajevo	434	827	+91%
Nassau	1,424	2,701	+90%

Largest falls

Post	Feb 2023	Mar 2023	Change
Hyderabad	11,057	6,810	-38%
Baku	649	432	-33%
Merida	5,361	3,785	-29%
Dar es Salaam	575	446	-22%
Port-au-Prince	356	279	-22%
San Jose	6,099	4,784	-22%
Beirut	2,057	1,643	-20%
Lisbon	830	673	-19%

Visa classes in Mar 2023

Nonimmigrant

Class	Issued	Share
B1/B2 Temporary visitor for business and pleasure	637,646	57.5%
BBBCC Combination B-1/B-2 and Border Crossing Card	191,908	17.3%
H2A Temporary worker performing agricultural service	52,330	4.7%
J1 Exchange visitor	37,451	3.4%
C1/D Combined transit and crewmember visa	34,243	3.1%
H1B Temporary worker of distinguished merit and abil	30,434	2.7%
H2B Temporary worker performing other services	26,730	2.4%
H4 Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3	19,817	1.8%
F1 Student in an academic or language training prog	9,710	0.9%
A2 Other foreign government official or employee, o	8,272	0.7%
L2 Spouse or child of intracompany transferee	7,947	0.7%
L1 Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial,	7,071	0.6%
E2 Treaty investor, spouse or child	5,672	0.5%
BBBCV Combination B-1/B-2 and Border Crossing Card (Li	4,125	0.4%
TN NAFTA professional	3,007	0.3%

Immigrant

Class	Issued	Share
IR5 Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age	11,153	17.2%
FX Family second preference, exempt from country li	10,045	15.5%
IR1 Spouse of U.S. citizen	6,596	10.2%
DV Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3)	6,570	10.2%
F4 Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U	6,337	9.8%
IR2 Child of U.S. citizen	4,719	7.3%
F2B Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or	4,277	6.6%
F1 Family first preference: unmarried son or daught	3,119	4.8%
E3 Employment third preference: skilled worker or p	2,737	4.2%
F3 Family third preference: married son or daughter	1,820	2.8%
CR1 Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status)	1,508	2.3%
SQ3 Child of SQ1	1,184	1.8%

Mar in other years

Month	Nonimmigrant	Immigrant
Mar 2019	784,192	37,618
Mar 2020	400,503	24,383
Mar 2021	260,493	21,670
Mar 2022	678,586	47,555
Mar 2023	1,109,079	64,714
Mar 2024	962,731	53,633
Mar 2025	1,006,227	51,574

Questions and answers

How many U.S. visas were issued in March 2023?

1,109,079 nonimmigrant visas and 64,714 immigrant visas, according to the State Department's monthly tables, which the Department describes as preliminary.

Which posts issued the most visas in March 2023?

Monterrey (77,539), Guadalajara (62,286), Bogota (54,532), Mexico City (49,950) and Mumbai (45,310).

Which posts changed most in March 2023?

Among posts with at least 200 issuances in both months, the largest rises on the previous month were Shanghai (+170%), Beijing (+169%) and Zagreb (+127%) and the largest falls Hyderabad (-38%), Baku (-33%) and Merida (-29%).

Where does this data come from?

The State Department's monthly nonimmigrant and immigrant visa issuance tables by post and visa class for March 2023. 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 2023, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.