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Riyadh · Saudi Arabia
Visa issuances and wait times at the U.S. post in Riyadh
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."
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 3,209 nonimmigrant visas issued in September 2025, down 40% on September 2024 (5,321).
The largest classes that month were B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 2,379, 74.1% of the post's issuances, A2 (other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family) with 546, 17% of the post's issuances and G2 (other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family) with 55, 1.7% of the post's issuances. Among the 211 posts that issued B1/B2 visas in September 2025, Riyadh ranks 45th by count; for F1 student visas it ranks 53rd of 184.
On the immigrant side the post issued 206 immigrant visas in September 2025, led by DV (68) and IR1 (40); 397 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 2 months for a visitor (B1/B2) interview, 2 months for students and exchange visitors (F, M, J) and 2 months for petition-based workers (H, L, O, P, Q). For visitor visas that is longer than the under ½ month listed about six months earlier (2 Dec 2025).
Appointment wait times
under 2 months2 to 6 monthsover 6 monthsnot listedRead from the Department's table 1 Jul 2026.
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 Saudi Arabia and the world, September 2025
| Sep 2025 | Riyadh | All 3 posts in Saudi Arabia | All posts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas issued | 3,209 | 5,240 | 823,557 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | -40% | — | -11% |
| Immigrant visas issued | 206 | 206 | 45,966 |
| Visitors share | 74.4% | — | 82.5% |
| Students and exchange visitors share | 3.2% | — | 2.9% |
| Temporary workers share | 0.8% | — | 9.4% |
| Diplomatic, official and international organisation share | 19% | — | 2.1% |
| Transit and crew share | 2.4% | — | 2.9% |
| Other nonimmigrant classes share | 0.1% | — | 0.2% |
| B1/B2 next appointment | 2 months | — | median 1 month |
| F, M, J next appointment | 2 months | — | median under ½ month |
All figures are from the September 2025 tables. The country column adds the posts located in Saudi Arabia (Dhahran, Jeddah and Riyadh) within that one month; it is not the count for nationals of Saudi Arabia, which is on the Saudi Arabia nationality page.
Visa classes issued, September 2025
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share | Rank among posts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 2,379 | 74.1% | 45 of 211 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 546 | 17% | 3 of 169 |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 55 | 1.7% | 23 of 157 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 43 | 1.3% | 4 of 104 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 41 | 1.3% | 77 of 171 |
| D | Crewmember (sea or air) | 37 | 1.2% | 2 of 24 |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 34 | 1.1% | 53 of 184 |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 15 | 0.5% | 104 of 194 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 11 | 0.3% | 13 of 91 |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 10 | 0.3% | 55 of 128 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 7 | 0.2% | 97 of 163 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 7 | 0.2% | 70 of 137 |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 6 | 0.2% | 54 of 119 |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 3 | 0.1% | 25 of 57 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 3 | 0.1% | 80 of 137 |
| A3 | Attendant, servant, or personal employee of A1 or A2, or immediate family | 2 | 0.1% | 7 of 19 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 2 | 0.1% | 78 of 96 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 2 | 0.1% | 119 of 144 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 2 | 0.1% | 107 of 132 |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 1 | 0% | 122 of 128 |
| H3 | Trainee | 1 | 0% | 15 of 17 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 1 | 0% | 123 of 124 |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 1 | 0% | 79 of 83 |
Immigrant visa classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share | Rank among posts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 68 | 33% | 24 of 96 |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 40 | 19.4% | 36 of 115 |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 23 | 11.2% | 54 of 109 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 14 | 6.8% | 43 of 103 |
| SQ3 | Child of SQ1 | 14 | 6.8% | 4 of 18 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 11 | 5.3% | 30 of 99 |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 10 | 4.9% | 30 of 65 |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 6 | 2.9% | 13 of 35 |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 6 | 2.9% | 49 of 73 |
| SQ1 | Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government | 4 | 1.9% | 9 of 20 |
| SQ2 | Spouse of SQ1 | 4 | 1.9% | 6 of 17 |
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 2 | 1% | 9 of 18 |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 1 | 0.5% | 79 of 82 |
| F2B | Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or daughter of lawful permanent resident, and child (F24, F25, C24, C25, B24, B25) | 1 | 0.5% | 55 of 58 |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 1 | 0.5% | 82 of 84 |
| SB1 | Returning resident | 1 | 0.5% | 34 of 38 |
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 | 3,209 | 206 | -40% |
| Aug 2025 | 3,391 | 464 | -34% |
| Jul 2025 | 4,074 | 195 | -21% |
| Jun 2025 | 3,093 | 211 | -30% |
| May 2025 | 3,306 | 266 | -34% |
| Apr 2025 | 3,208 | 264 | -1% |
| Mar 2025 | 3,936 | 374 | -1% |
| Feb 2025 | 3,612 | 421 | +49% |
| Jan 2025 | 5,428 | 421 | +42% |
| Dec 2024 | 3,888 | 464 | -6% |
| Nov 2024 | 4,497 | 405 | +3% |
| Oct 2024 | 4,656 | 273 | +4% |
| Sep 2024 | 5,321 | 397 | +103% |
| Aug 2024 | 5,127 | 333 | +36% |
| Jul 2024 | 5,135 | 272 | +15% |
| Jun 2024 | 4,423 | 343 | +47% |
| May 2024 | 4,998 | 211 | -8% |
| Apr 2024 | 3,237 | 222 | -34% |
| Mar 2024 | 3,967 | 256 | -33% |
| Feb 2024 | 2,429 | 211 | -42% |
| Jan 2024 | 3,811 | 223 | -31% |
| Dec 2023 | 4,144 | 129 | -23% |
| Nov 2023 | 4,356 | 160 | -18% |
| Oct 2023 | 4,478 | 181 | -12% |
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 Saudi Arabia
Questions and answers
How many visas did the U.S. post in Riyadh issue last month?
3,209 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, the latest month in the State Department's monthly issuance tables, and 206 immigrant visas. In September 2024 the post issued 5,321 nonimmigrant visas.
What is the wait for a visitor visa interview in Riyadh?
The Department's Global Visa Wait Times table, read on 1 Jul 2026, listed the next available B1/B2 interview appointment as 2 months away (2 to 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 Riyadh?
The next available F, M or J appointment was listed as 2 months away on 1 Jul 2026. Student appointments are scheduled separately from visitor appointments at most posts.
Which visa classes does Riyadh issue most?
In September 2025: B1/B2 (2,379, 74.1%), A2 (546, 17%), G2 (55, 1.7%), F2 (43, 1.3%) and C1/D (41, 1.3%). 23 nonimmigrant classes appear in the post's table for the month.
Is visa volume at Riyadh rising or falling?
September 2025: 3,209 nonimmigrant visas, down 40% on September 2024 (5,321). 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 Riyadh 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 Riyadh 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 1 Oct 2026. Errors in processing are corrected at the next build; see corrections.