Seoul · South Korea · January 2024
Visas issued at Seoul in January 2024
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) | Jan 2024 | Share | Dec 2023 | Jan 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 1,514 | 27% | 1,350 | 574 |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 677 | 12.1% | 731 | 433 |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 627 | 11.2% | 1,641 | 891 |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 464 | 8.3% | 1,393 | 775 |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 435 | 7.8% | 381 | 381 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 413 | 7.4% | 253 | 305 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 374 | 6.7% | 211 | 159 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 283 | 5.1% | 502 | 338 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 213 | 3.8% | 374 | 174 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 130 | 2.3% | 182 | 119 |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 96 | 1.7% | 25 | 54 |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 51 | 0.9% | 7 | 45 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 48 | 0.9% | 71 | 37 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 35 | 0.6% | 43 | 34 |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 35 | 0.6% | 4 | 82 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 29 | 0.5% | 93 | 68 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 26 | 0.5% | 54 | 13 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 22 | 0.4% | 7 | 20 |
| CW1 | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands transitional worker | 21 | 0.4% | 7 | 12 |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 21 | 0.4% | 11 | 17 |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 16 | 0.3% | 11 | 16 |
| E1 | Treaty trader, spouse or child | 15 | 0.3% | 8 | 7 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 12 | 0.2% | 17 | 7 |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 10 | 0.2% | 9 | 15 |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 8 | 0.1% | 12 | 20 |
| CW2 | Spouse or child of CW-1 | 5 | 0.1% | 4 | 0 |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 5 | 0.1% | 0 | 20 |
| E2C | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands investor, spouse or child | 4 | 0.1% | 1 | 2 |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 4 | 0.1% | 1 | 27 |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 3 | 0.1% | 0 | 3 |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 1 | 0% | 1 | 0 |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 1 | 0% | 0 | 2 |
| M2 | Spouse or child of vocational student | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| TD | Spouse or child of TN | 1 | 0% | 1 | 3 |
Immigrant classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | Jan 2024 | Share | Dec 2023 | Jan 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 391 | 58.1% | 103 | 23 |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 58 | 8.6% | 7 | 12 |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 53 | 7.9% | 79 | 58 |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 46 | 6.8% | 81 | 46 |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 41 | 6.1% | 17 | 90 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 33 | 4.9% | 40 | 14 |
| EW | Employment third preference, other worker (subgroup numerical limit), spouse and child (EW3, EW4, EW5) | 17 | 2.5% | 15 | 14 |
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 8 | 1.2% | 2 | 8 |
| IR3 | Orphan adopted abroad by U.S. citizen | 8 | 1.2% | 1 | 14 |
| I5 | Investor pilot program (regional center) in targeted area, spouse and child (I51-I53) | 6 | 0.9% | 0 | 3 |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 4 | 0.6% | 2 | 17 |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 3 | 0.4% | 7 | 3 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 3 | 0.4% | 10 | 3 |
| F2B | Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or daughter of lawful permanent resident, and child (F24, F25, C24, C25, B24, B25) | 1 | 0.1% | 0 | 0 |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | 8 |
Context
| January 2024 | Seoul | All posts |
|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas | 5,600 | 875,162 |
| Change on previous month | -24% | +16% |
| Change on same month a year earlier | +20% | +4% |
| Immigrant visas | 673 | 50,517 |
Nearest wait-time reading on or before the end of Jan 2024 (6 Jan 2024): B1/B2 next available 31 days; F, M, J 9 days; H, L, O, P, Q 14 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 · Dec 2023 · Nov 2023 · Oct 2023. Back to the Seoul page.
Questions and answers
How many visas did Seoul issue in January 2024?
5,600 nonimmigrant visas and 673 immigrant visas, per the State Department's monthly tables for January 2024. That was the 40th largest nonimmigrant count among 216 posts that month.
How did January 2024 compare with the month before and a year earlier at Seoul?
December 2023: 7,409 nonimmigrant visas (-24% to Jan 2024). January 2023: 4,662 (+20%).
Which classes made up the month?
B1/B2 1,514 (27%), E2 677 (12.1%), J1 627 (11.2%), F1 464 (8.3%), L2 435 (7.8%).
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 January 2024, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.