Sydney · Australia
Visa issuances and wait times at the U.S. post in Sydney
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. On wait times the Department says: "New appointments are added regularly, so you may get an appointment sooner" and "The average wait times we report do not guarantee a visa applicant will get an appointment within a specific time."
In September 2025, the latest month published, the post in Sydney (Australia) issued 2,391 nonimmigrant visas, down 20% on September 2024 (2,986).
The largest classes that month were B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 1,343, 56.2% of the post's issuances, A2 (other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family) with 414, 17.3% of the post's issuances and E3 (australian specialty occupation professional) with 133, 5.6% of the post's issuances. Among the 211 posts that issued B1/B2 visas in September 2025, Sydney ranks 62nd by count; for F1 student visas it ranks 59th of 184.
On the immigrant side the post issued 124 immigrant visas in September 2025, led by F4 (29) and F3 (23); 110 in September 2024.
The Department publishes annual totals separately, in its Report of the Visa Office; this site does not add monthly reports together, so the month-by-month table below is read one month at a time.
The Department's Global Visa Wait Times table read on 1 Jul 2026 listed the next available appointment as 18 months for a visitor (B1/B2) interview, under ½ month for students and exchange visitors (F, M, J) and 2.5 months for petition-based workers (H, L, O, P, Q). For visitor visas that is longer than the 7 months listed about six months earlier (2 Dec 2025). The average wait actually experienced by B1/B2 applicants interviewed in the previous month was 4 months.
Appointment wait times
under 2 months2 to 6 monthsover 6 monthsnot listedRead from the Department's table 1 Jul 2026.
B1/B2 applicants interviewed in the previous month had waited an average of 4 months from fee payment to interview, per the Department's table; it publishes this average only where the next appointment is more than three months away. Crew and transit (C, D, C1/D): 1.5 months.
The Department publishes annual totals separately, in its Report of the Visa Office; monthly reports are not summed on this site.
Monthly issuances by broad class, last 36 months
VisitorsStudents and exchange visitorsTemporary workersDiplomatic, official and international organisationTransit and crewOther nonimmigrant classes
Groups follow the Department's visa symbols: visitors (B), students and exchange visitors (F, M, J), temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, E, R, TN, I), diplomatic and official (A, G, NATO), transit and crew (C, D), other. Hover a month for its counts. Each bar is one monthly report.
Compared with Australia and the world, September 2025
| Sep 2025 | Sydney | All 4 posts in Australia | All posts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas issued | 2,391 | 4,371 | 823,557 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | -20% | — | -11% |
| Immigrant visas issued | 124 | 124 | 45,966 |
| Visitors share | 56.2% | — | 82.5% |
| Students and exchange visitors share | 2.6% | — | 2.9% |
| Temporary workers share | 19.6% | — | 9.4% |
| Diplomatic, official and international organisation share | 18.4% | — | 2.1% |
| Transit and crew share | 2.5% | — | 2.9% |
| Other nonimmigrant classes share | 0.6% | — | 0.2% |
| B1/B2 next appointment | 18 months | — | median 1 month |
| F, M, J next appointment | under ½ month | — | median under ½ month |
All figures are from the September 2025 tables. The country column adds the posts located in Australia (Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney) within that one month; it is not the count for nationals of Australia, which is on the Australia nationality page.
Visa classes issued, September 2025
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share | Rank among posts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 1,343 | 56.2% | 62 of 211 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 414 | 17.3% | 4 of 169 |
| E3 | Australian specialty occupation professional | 133 | 5.6% | 1 of 28 |
| E3D | Spouse or child of Australian specialty occupation professional | 71 | 3% | 1 of 23 |
| E3R | Returning Australian specialty occupation professional | 62 | 2.6% | 1 of 20 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 56 | 2.3% | 67 of 171 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 40 | 1.7% | 37 of 144 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 33 | 1.4% | 10 of 132 |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 30 | 1.3% | 59 of 184 |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 28 | 1.2% | 77 of 194 |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 26 | 1.1% | 37 of 133 |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 21 | 0.9% | 27 of 68 |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 20 | 0.8% | 17 of 83 |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 18 | 0.8% | 13 of 119 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 15 | 0.6% | 66 of 163 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 14 | 0.6% | 27 of 96 |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 11 | 0.5% | 14 of 49 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 11 | 0.5% | 56 of 137 |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 11 | 0.5% | 40 of 110 |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 9 | 0.4% | 105 of 157 |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 4 | 0.2% | 33 of 87 |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 4 | 0.2% | 34 of 96 |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 3 | 0.1% | 79 of 128 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 3 | 0.1% | 84 of 137 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 2 | 0.1% | 70 of 104 |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 2 | 0.1% | 71 of 88 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 2 | 0.1% | 63 of 91 |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 1 | 0% | 126 of 128 |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 1 | 0% | 56 of 57 |
| H3 | Trainee | 1 | 0% | 17 of 17 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 1 | 0% | 124 of 124 |
| P4 | Spouse or child of P-1, P-2, or P-3 | 1 | 0% | 37 of 38 |
Immigrant visa classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share | Rank among posts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 29 | 23.4% | 17 of 73 |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 23 | 18.5% | 18 of 65 |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 21 | 16.9% | 52 of 115 |
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 18 | 14.5% | 50 of 96 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 10 | 8.1% | 31 of 99 |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 9 | 7.3% | 76 of 109 |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 4 | 3.2% | 47 of 82 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 4 | 3.2% | 77 of 103 |
| SI3 | Child of SI1 | 3 | 2.4% | 2 of 2 |
| SB1 | Returning resident | 1 | 0.8% | 35 of 38 |
| SI1 | Certain aliens employed by the U.S. Government in Iraq or Afghanistan as translators or interpreters | 1 | 0.8% | 2 of 2 |
| SI2 | Spouse of SI1 | 1 | 0.8% | 2 of 2 |
Ranks are among posts in the same month's table. Earlier months are linked from the month-by-month table below.
Seasonality
Wait-time history
Visitor B1/B2Student F, M, JWorker H, L, O, P, Q
Month by month
| Month | Nonimmigrant | Immigrant | vs same month prior year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,391 | 124 | -20% |
| Aug 2025 | 3,034 | 175 | +17% |
| Jul 2025 | 3,053 | 97 | -16% |
| Jun 2025 | 1,846 | 119 | -38% |
| May 2025 | 3,832 | 96 | -10% |
| Apr 2025 | 2,993 | 64 | -25% |
| Mar 2025 | 3,367 | 86 | +17% |
| Feb 2025 | 3,739 | 83 | -8% |
| Jan 2025 | 2,310 | 128 | -12% |
| Dec 2024 | 3,137 | 87 | +2% |
| Nov 2024 | 2,375 | 60 | -21% |
| Oct 2024 | 3,678 | 131 | +80% |
| Sep 2024 | 2,986 | 110 | +5% |
| Aug 2024 | 2,595 | 54 | -13% |
| Jul 2024 | 3,620 | 111 | +46% |
| Jun 2024 | 2,967 | 112 | +21% |
| May 2024 | 4,253 | 76 | +40% |
| Apr 2024 | 3,967 | 88 | +55% |
| Mar 2024 | 2,868 | 79 | +1% |
| Feb 2024 | 4,046 | 131 | +46% |
| Jan 2024 | 2,639 | 99 | +49% |
| Dec 2023 | 3,087 | 110 | +34% |
| Nov 2023 | 2,993 | 101 | +32% |
| Oct 2023 | 2,042 | 138 | -9% |
One row per monthly report; the rows are not added together. Each month links to the post's class breakdown for that month. Global totals for any month: September 2025.
Other U.S. posts in Australia
- Canberra: 0 nonimmigrant visas in Sep 2025
- Melbourne: 1,603 nonimmigrant visas in Sep 2025
- Perth: 377 nonimmigrant visas in Sep 2025
Questions and answers
How many visas did the U.S. post in Sydney issue last month?
2,391 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, the latest month in the State Department's monthly issuance tables, and 124 immigrant visas. In September 2024 the post issued 2,986 nonimmigrant visas.
What is the wait for a visitor visa interview in Sydney?
The Department's Global Visa Wait Times table, read on 1 Jul 2026, listed the next available B1/B2 interview appointment as 18 months away (over 6 months). The Department updates the table monthly and says new appointments are added regularly, so an applicant may get an appointment sooner.
What is the wait for a student visa interview in Sydney?
The next available F, M or J appointment was listed as under ½ month away on 1 Jul 2026. Student appointments are scheduled separately from visitor appointments at most posts.
Which visa classes does Sydney issue most?
In September 2025: B1/B2 (1,343, 56.2%), A2 (414, 17.3%), E3 (133, 5.6%), E3D (71, 3%) and E3R (62, 2.6%). 32 nonimmigrant classes appear in the post's table for the month.
Is visa volume at Sydney rising or falling?
September 2025: 2,391 nonimmigrant visas, down 20% on September 2024 (2,986). The month-by-month series on this page shows the path one month at a time; the Department notes that monthly reports are preliminary and subject to change and should not be added together.
How many visas does Sydney issue in a year?
The Department publishes annual totals separately, in its Report of the Visa Office, and says its monthly reports should not be aggregated, so this site shows no yearly figure for a post. The annual tables by nationality are on the nationality pages.
What does the issuance count for Sydney not tell you?
It is the number of visas issued, not the number of applications received or interviews held, and it says nothing about the outcome of any individual application. The Department publishes refusal rates only for B visas by nationality, not by post.
Where does this data come from?
The State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs publishes monthly nonimmigrant and immigrant visa issuance tables by post and visa class, and a Global Visa Wait Times table. Issuances on this page run March 2017 to September 2025; wait times are read from the Department's table and kept as dated snapshots (44 readings for this post).
Provenance
Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Monthly Nonimmigrant Visa Issuances by Post and Visa Class and Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuances by Post and Visa Class (latest NIV table, latest IV table), public domain; Global Visa Wait Times table, read on the dates shown. Issuance data through 30 Sep 2025; site generated 30 Sep 2026. Errors in processing are corrected at the next build; see corrections.