Seoul · South Korea · December 2024
Visas issued at Seoul in December 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) | Dec 2024 | Share | Nov 2024 | Dec 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 1,305 | 20.8% | 718 | 1,641 |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 1,053 | 16.8% | 493 | 1,393 |
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 986 | 15.7% | 1,074 | 1,350 |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 596 | 9.5% | 380 | 731 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 477 | 7.6% | 226 | 374 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 405 | 6.5% | 307 | 211 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 369 | 5.9% | 229 | 502 |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 303 | 4.8% | 200 | 381 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 238 | 3.8% | 180 | 253 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 117 | 1.9% | 308 | 182 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 76 | 1.2% | 48 | 71 |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 76 | 1.2% | 89 | 4 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 71 | 1.1% | 111 | 93 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 58 | 0.9% | 45 | 43 |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 22 | 0.4% | 86 | 25 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 21 | 0.3% | 21 | 7 |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 20 | 0.3% | 32 | 11 |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 11 | 0.2% | 18 | 11 |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 10 | 0.2% | 13 | 12 |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 10 | 0.2% | 13 | 9 |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 8 | 0.1% | 1 | 7 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 7 | 0.1% | 10 | 17 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 7 | 0.1% | 11 | 54 |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 6 | 0.1% | 5 | 1 |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 5 | 0.1% | 0 | 1 |
| CW1 | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands transitional worker | 4 | 0.1% | 9 | 7 |
| E1 | Treaty trader, spouse or child | 4 | 0.1% | 20 | 8 |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 2 | 0% | 2 | 0 |
| P4 | Spouse or child of P-1, P-2, or P-3 | 2 | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 1 | 0% | 1 | 0 |
Immigrant classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | Dec 2024 | Share | Nov 2024 | Dec 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 99 | 26.2% | 78 | 103 |
| I5 | Investor pilot program (regional center) in targeted area, spouse and child (I51-I53) | 80 | 21.2% | 47 | 0 |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 64 | 16.9% | 50 | 81 |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 42 | 11.1% | 46 | 79 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 24 | 6.3% | 32 | 40 |
| EW | Employment third preference, other worker (subgroup numerical limit), spouse and child (EW3, EW4, EW5) | 14 | 3.7% | 18 | 15 |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 13 | 3.4% | 13 | 7 |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 8 | 2.1% | 14 | 7 |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 8 | 2.1% | 21 | 17 |
| F2B | Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or daughter of lawful permanent resident, and child (F24, F25, C24, C25, B24, B25) | 6 | 1.6% | 5 | 0 |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 5 | 1.3% | 14 | 5 |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 5 | 1.3% | 2 | 0 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 4 | 1.1% | 6 | 10 |
| 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% | 6 | 2 |
| 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% | 14 | 1 |
| GV1 | Certain employee or former employee of the U.S. Government abroad | 1 | 0.3% | 2 | 0 |
| GV2 | Spouse of GV1 | 1 | 0.3% | 1 | 0 |
| SB1 | Returning resident | 1 | 0.3% | 0 | 0 |
Context
| December 2024 | Seoul | All posts |
|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas | 6,270 | 884,739 |
| Change on previous month | +34% | +9% |
| Change on same month a year earlier | -15% | +17% |
| Immigrant visas | 378 | 50,944 |
Nearest wait-time reading on or before the end of Dec 2024 (1 Dec 2024): B1/B2 next available 24 days; F, M, J 11 days; H, L, O, P, Q 15 days.
Other months at this post: Sep 2025 · Aug 2025 · Jul 2025 · Jun 2025 · May 2025 · Apr 2025 · Mar 2025 · Feb 2025 · Jan 2025 · 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 Seoul page.
Questions and answers
How many visas did Seoul issue in December 2024?
6,270 nonimmigrant visas and 378 immigrant visas, per the State Department's monthly tables for December 2024. That was the 36th largest nonimmigrant count among 216 posts that month.
How did December 2024 compare with the month before and a year earlier at Seoul?
November 2024: 4,670 nonimmigrant visas (+34% to Dec 2024). December 2023: 7,409 (-15%).
Which classes made up the month?
J1 1,305 (20.8%), F1 1,053 (16.8%), B1/B2 986 (15.7%), E2 596 (9.5%), H1B 477 (7.6%).
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 2024, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.