Riyadh · Saudi Arabia · May 2025
Visas issued at Riyadh in May 2025
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) | May 2025 | Share | Apr 2025 | May 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 2,648 | 80.1% | 2,458 | 3,565 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 317 | 9.6% | 383 | 473 |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 96 | 2.9% | 118 | 106 |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 73 | 2.2% | 33 | 566 |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 33 | 1% | 27 | 118 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 18 | 0.5% | 29 | 32 |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 18 | 0.5% | 36 | 12 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 14 | 0.4% | 10 | 22 |
| A3 | Attendant, servant, or personal employee of A1 or A2, or immediate family | 11 | 0.3% | 8 | 23 |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 11 | 0.3% | 0 | 1 |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 9 | 0.3% | 19 | 7 |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 8 | 0.2% | 25 | 17 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 8 | 0.2% | 14 | 24 |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 8 | 0.2% | 7 | 1 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 7 | 0.2% | 9 | 5 |
| D | Crewmember (sea or air) | 4 | 0.1% | 6 | 5 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 4 | 0.1% | 4 | 7 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 4 | 0.1% | 8 | 3 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 4 | 0.1% | 1 | 0 |
| NATO2 | Other representative of member state to NATO and immediate family; dependents of member of a force entering under the NATO agreements; members of such a force if issued visas | 3 | 0.1% | 0 | 0 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 2 | 0.1% | 2 | 2 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 2 | 0.1% | 3 | 5 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 2 | 0.1% | 3 | 4 |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 1 | 0% | 2 | 0 |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 1 | 0% | 2 | 0 |
Immigrant classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | May 2025 | Share | Apr 2025 | May 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 51 | 19.2% | 47 | 23 |
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 39 | 14.7% | 55 | 2 |
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 38 | 14.3% | 24 | 66 |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 38 | 14.3% | 50 | 21 |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 34 | 12.8% | 2 | 43 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 21 | 7.9% | 22 | 6 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 10 | 3.8% | 14 | 2 |
| SQ3 | Child of SQ1 | 9 | 3.4% | 8 | 0 |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 7 | 2.6% | 5 | 12 |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 5 | 1.9% | 9 | 14 |
| I5 | Investor pilot program (regional center) in targeted area, spouse and child (I51-I53) | 5 | 1.9% | 12 | 1 |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 3 | 1.1% | 0 | 14 |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 2 | 0.8% | 11 | 4 |
| IW | Certain spouses of deceased U.S. citizens, and their children (IW1, IW2) | 1 | 0.4% | 0 | 0 |
| RR1 | Employment creation (EB-5) reserved visa, rural area, principal | 1 | 0.4% | 0 | 0 |
| SQ1 | Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government | 1 | 0.4% | 3 | 0 |
| SQ2 | Spouse of SQ1 | 1 | 0.4% | 0 | 0 |
Context
| May 2025 | Riyadh | All posts |
|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas | 3,306 | 897,937 |
| Change on previous month | +3% | -10% |
| Change on same month a year earlier | -34% | -16% |
| Immigrant visas | 266 | 46,751 |
Nearest wait-time reading on or before the end of May 2025 (1 May 2025): B1/B2 next available 1 month; F, M, J under ½ month; H, L, O, P, Q under ½ month.
Other months at this post: Sep 2025 · Aug 2025 · Jul 2025 · Jun 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 · Dec 2023 · Nov 2023 · Oct 2023. Back to the Riyadh page.
Questions and answers
How many visas did Riyadh issue in May 2025?
3,306 nonimmigrant visas and 266 immigrant visas, per the State Department's monthly tables for May 2025. That was the 60th largest nonimmigrant count among 217 posts that month.
How did May 2025 compare with the month before and a year earlier at Riyadh?
April 2025: 3,208 nonimmigrant visas (+3% to May 2025). May 2024: 4,998 (-34%).
Which classes made up the month?
B1/B2 2,648 (80.1%), A2 317 (9.6%), F1 96 (2.9%), J1 73 (2.2%), B1 33 (1%).
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 May 2025, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.