Posts › Sydney › December 2023
Sydney · Australia · December 2023
Visas issued at Sydney in December 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.
Nonimmigrant classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | Dec 2023 | Share | Nov 2023 | Dec 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 1,279 | 41.4% | 1,707 | 671 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 426 | 13.8% | 479 | 316 |
| E3R | Returning Australian specialty occupation professional | 254 | 8.2% | 84 | 173 |
| E3D | Spouse or child of Australian specialty occupation professional | 215 | 7% | 88 | 124 |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 179 | 5.8% | 89 | 211 |
| E3 | Australian specialty occupation professional | 177 | 5.7% | 125 | 158 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 109 | 3.5% | 100 | 177 |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 93 | 3% | 54 | 113 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 64 | 2.1% | 28 | 81 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 45 | 1.5% | 21 | 54 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 30 | 1% | 14 | 19 |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 25 | 0.8% | 38 | 31 |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 24 | 0.8% | 17 | 14 |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 24 | 0.8% | 12 | 14 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 23 | 0.7% | 34 | 36 |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 22 | 0.7% | 3 | 14 |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 18 | 0.6% | 10 | 8 |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 16 | 0.5% | 10 | 17 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 13 | 0.4% | 13 | 20 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 8 | 0.3% | 4 | 16 |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 7 | 0.2% | 16 | 2 |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 7 | 0.2% | 4 | 8 |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 5 | 0.2% | 6 | 0 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 5 | 0.2% | 2 | 3 |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 3 | 0.1% | 5 | 1 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 3 | 0.1% | 3 | 4 |
| P4 | Spouse or child of P-1, P-2, or P-3 | 3 | 0.1% | 2 | 0 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 2 | 0.1% | 4 | 1 |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 2 | 0.1% | 0 | 1 |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 2 | 0.1% | 4 | 3 |
| B2 | Temporary visitor for pleasure | 1 | 0% | 2 | 0 |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 1 | 0% | 5 | 9 |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 1 | 0% | 6 | 0 |
| H3 | Trainee | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0 |
Immigrant classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | Dec 2023 | Share | Nov 2023 | Dec 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 20 | 18.2% | 41 | 45 |
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 15 | 13.6% | 6 | 5 |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 14 | 12.7% | 11 | 6 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 9 | 8.2% | 18 | 1 |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 7 | 6.4% | 9 | 14 |
| I5 | Investor pilot program (regional center) in targeted area, spouse and child (I51-I53) | 7 | 6.4% | 0 | 0 |
| SB1 | Returning resident | 7 | 6.4% | 1 | 17 |
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 6 | 5.5% | 3 | 7 |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 6 | 5.5% | 2 | 15 |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 6 | 5.5% | 4 | 13 |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 4 | 3.6% | 0 | 2 |
| EW | Employment third preference, other worker (subgroup numerical limit), spouse and child (EW3, EW4, EW5) | 4 | 3.6% | 1 | 6 |
| SQ1 | Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government | 2 | 1.8% | 2 | 1 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 1 | 0.9% | 1 | 8 |
| SQ2 | Spouse of SQ1 | 1 | 0.9% | 0 | 0 |
| SQ3 | Child of SQ1 | 1 | 0.9% | 0 | 0 |
Context
| December 2023 | Sydney | All posts |
|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas | 3,087 | 755,973 |
| Change on previous month | +3% | -7% |
| Change on same month a year earlier | +34% | +1% |
| Immigrant visas | 110 | 46,279 |
Nearest wait-time reading on or before the end of Dec 2023 (17 Dec 2023): B1/B2 next available 91 days; F, M, J 5 days; H, L, O, P, Q 35 days.
Other months at this post: Sep 2025 · Aug 2025 · Jul 2025 · Jun 2025 · May 2025 · Apr 2025 · Mar 2025 · Feb 2025 · Jan 2025 · Dec 2024 · Nov 2024 · Oct 2024 · Sep 2024 · Aug 2024 · Jul 2024 · Jun 2024 · May 2024 · Apr 2024 · Mar 2024 · Feb 2024 · Jan 2024 · Nov 2023 · Oct 2023. Back to the Sydney page.
Questions and answers
How many visas did Sydney issue in December 2023?
3,087 nonimmigrant visas and 110 immigrant visas, per the State Department's monthly tables for December 2023. That was the 53th largest nonimmigrant count among 217 posts that month.
How did December 2023 compare with the month before and a year earlier at Sydney?
November 2023: 2,993 nonimmigrant visas (+3% to Dec 2023). December 2022: 2,302 (+34%).
Which classes made up the month?
B1/B2 1,279 (41.4%), A2 426 (13.8%), E3R 254 (8.2%), E3D 215 (7%), J1 179 (5.8%).
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 for December 2023, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.