Seoul · South Korea · December 2023
Visas issued at Seoul 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 1,641 | 22.1% | 725 | 1,802 |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 1,393 | 18.8% | 576 | 1,719 |
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 1,350 | 18.2% | 1,044 | 633 |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 731 | 9.9% | 502 | 305 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 502 | 6.8% | 290 | 553 |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 381 | 5.1% | 163 | 188 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 374 | 5% | 183 | 385 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 253 | 3.4% | 144 | 123 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 211 | 2.8% | 268 | 186 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 182 | 2.5% | 296 | 149 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 93 | 1.3% | 101 | 208 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 71 | 1% | 41 | 65 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 54 | 0.7% | 33 | 27 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 43 | 0.6% | 47 | 62 |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 25 | 0.3% | 49 | 44 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 17 | 0.2% | 20 | 12 |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 12 | 0.2% | 5 | 16 |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 11 | 0.1% | 20 | 19 |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 11 | 0.1% | 19 | 22 |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 9 | 0.1% | 14 | 20 |
| E1 | Treaty trader, spouse or child | 8 | 0.1% | 9 | 10 |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 7 | 0.1% | 8 | 6 |
| CW1 | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands transitional worker | 7 | 0.1% | 16 | 14 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 7 | 0.1% | 2 | 8 |
| CW2 | Spouse or child of CW-1 | 4 | 0.1% | 5 | 8 |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 4 | 0.1% | 43 | 2 |
| E3D | Spouse or child of Australian specialty occupation professional | 2 | 0% | 0 | 3 |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| E2C | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands investor, spouse or child | 1 | 0% | 1 | 1 |
| E3 | Australian specialty occupation professional | 1 | 0% | 2 | 0 |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 1 | 0% | 0 | 10 |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 1 | 0% | 3 | 0 |
| TD | Spouse or child of TN | 1 | 0% | 0 | 4 |
Immigrant classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | Dec 2023 | Share | Nov 2023 | Dec 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 103 | 27.8% | 417 | 87 |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 81 | 21.8% | 52 | 47 |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 79 | 21.3% | 32 | 35 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 40 | 10.8% | 27 | 19 |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 17 | 4.6% | 36 | 90 |
| EW | Employment third preference, other worker (subgroup numerical limit), spouse and child (EW3, EW4, EW5) | 15 | 4% | 11 | 76 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 10 | 2.7% | 3 | 6 |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 7 | 1.9% | 28 | 38 |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 7 | 1.9% | 13 | 12 |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 5 | 1.3% | 3 | 7 |
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 2 | 0.5% | 0 | 1 |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 2 | 0.5% | 0 | 6 |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 1 | 0.3% | 1 | 3 |
| IR3 | Orphan adopted abroad by U.S. citizen | 1 | 0.3% | 15 | 0 |
| SR | Certain religious workers, spouse and child (SR1-SR3) | 1 | 0.3% | 0 | 0 |
Context
| December 2023 | Seoul | All posts |
|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas | 7,409 | 755,973 |
| Change on previous month | +60% | -7% |
| Change on same month a year earlier | +12% | +1% |
| Immigrant visas | 371 | 46,279 |
Nearest wait-time reading on or before the end of Dec 2023 (17 Dec 2023): B1/B2 next available 49 days; F, M, J 4 days; H, L, O, P, Q 16 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 Seoul page.
Questions and answers
How many visas did Seoul issue in December 2023?
7,409 nonimmigrant visas and 371 immigrant visas, per the State Department's monthly tables for December 2023. That was the 28th largest nonimmigrant count among 217 posts that month.
How did December 2023 compare with the month before and a year earlier at Seoul?
November 2023: 4,645 nonimmigrant visas (+60% to Dec 2023). December 2022: 6,610 (+12%).
Which classes made up the month?
J1 1,641 (22.1%), F1 1,393 (18.8%), B1/B2 1,350 (18.2%), E2 731 (9.9%), J2 502 (6.8%).
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.