Seoul · South Korea · February 2024
Visas issued at Seoul in February 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) | Feb 2024 | Share | Jan 2024 | Feb 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 1,183 | 27.4% | 1,514 | 1,035 |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 672 | 15.6% | 677 | 705 |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 557 | 12.9% | 627 | 645 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 430 | 10% | 374 | 241 |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 270 | 6.3% | 435 | 531 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 243 | 5.6% | 413 | 349 |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 232 | 5.4% | 464 | 355 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 190 | 4.4% | 283 | 244 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 147 | 3.4% | 130 | 206 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 91 | 2.1% | 213 | 129 |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 46 | 1.1% | 96 | 76 |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 37 | 0.9% | 51 | 18 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 29 | 0.7% | 29 | 52 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 28 | 0.6% | 48 | 59 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 21 | 0.5% | 35 | 49 |
| E1 | Treaty trader, spouse or child | 19 | 0.4% | 15 | 7 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 17 | 0.4% | 22 | 23 |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 17 | 0.4% | 35 | 51 |
| CW1 | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands transitional worker | 11 | 0.3% | 21 | 16 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 11 | 0.3% | 12 | 10 |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 11 | 0.3% | 10 | 20 |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 10 | 0.2% | 21 | 41 |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 8 | 0.2% | 0 | 15 |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 7 | 0.2% | 8 | 25 |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 7 | 0.2% | 16 | 28 |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 6 | 0.1% | 3 | 10 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 5 | 0.1% | 26 | 27 |
| P4 | Spouse or child of P-1, P-2, or P-3 | 3 | 0.1% | 0 | 0 |
| E3 | Australian specialty occupation professional | 2 | 0% | 0 | 2 |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 2 | 0% | 4 | 19 |
| H3 | Trainee | 2 | 0% | 0 | 2 |
| CW2 | Spouse or child of CW-1 | 1 | 0% | 5 | 5 |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 1 | 0% | 5 | 7 |
Immigrant classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | Feb 2024 | Share | Jan 2024 | Feb 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 227 | 52.8% | 391 | 105 |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 48 | 11.2% | 46 | 53 |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 42 | 9.8% | 41 | 45 |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 26 | 6% | 53 | 56 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 24 | 5.6% | 33 | 29 |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 19 | 4.4% | 58 | 21 |
| EW | Employment third preference, other worker (subgroup numerical limit), spouse and child (EW3, EW4, EW5) | 14 | 3.3% | 17 | 93 |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 8 | 1.9% | 3 | 8 |
| I5 | Investor pilot program (regional center) in targeted area, spouse and child (I51-I53) | 6 | 1.4% | 6 | 15 |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 4 | 0.9% | 1 | 6 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 4 | 0.9% | 3 | 6 |
| CR2 | Child of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 1 | 0.2% | 0 | 0 |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 1 | 0.2% | 0 | 1 |
| IB1 | Self-petition spouse of U.S. citizen | 1 | 0.2% | 0 | 0 |
| IR3 | Orphan adopted abroad by U.S. citizen | 1 | 0.2% | 8 | 6 |
| SD | Minister of religion, spouse and child (SD1-SD3) | 1 | 0.2% | 0 | 0 |
| SQ1 | Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government | 1 | 0.2% | 0 | 0 |
| SQ2 | Spouse of SQ1 | 1 | 0.2% | 0 | 0 |
| SR | Certain religious workers, spouse and child (SR1-SR3) | 1 | 0.2% | 0 | 0 |
Context
| February 2024 | Seoul | All posts |
|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas | 4,316 | 861,383 |
| Change on previous month | -23% | -2% |
| Change on same month a year earlier | -14% | +1% |
| Immigrant visas | 430 | 51,563 |
Nearest wait-time reading on or before the end of Feb 2024 (1 Feb 2024): B1/B2 next available 43 days; F, M, J 5 days; H, L, O, P, Q 5 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 · Jan 2024 · Dec 2023 · Nov 2023 · Oct 2023. Back to the Seoul page.
Questions and answers
How many visas did Seoul issue in February 2024?
4,316 nonimmigrant visas and 430 immigrant visas, per the State Department's monthly tables for February 2024. That was the 48th largest nonimmigrant count among 217 posts that month.
How did February 2024 compare with the month before and a year earlier at Seoul?
January 2024: 5,600 nonimmigrant visas (-23% to Feb 2024). February 2023: 5,021 (-14%).
Which classes made up the month?
B1/B2 1,183 (27.4%), E2 672 (15.6%), J1 557 (12.9%), C1/D 430 (10%), L2 270 (6.3%).
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 February 2024, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.