Seoul · South Korea · January 2025
Visas issued at Seoul in January 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) | Jan 2025 | Share | Dec 2024 | Jan 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 825 | 20.8% | 986 | 1,514 |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 515 | 13% | 1,305 | 627 |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 416 | 10.5% | 596 | 677 |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 375 | 9.4% | 1,053 | 464 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 369 | 9.3% | 405 | 374 |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 287 | 7.2% | 303 | 435 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 259 | 6.5% | 369 | 283 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 249 | 6.3% | 238 | 413 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 136 | 3.4% | 477 | 213 |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 101 | 2.5% | 76 | 35 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 83 | 2.1% | 117 | 130 |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 73 | 1.8% | 8 | 51 |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 50 | 1.3% | 22 | 96 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 39 | 1% | 71 | 29 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 38 | 1% | 76 | 48 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 34 | 0.9% | 58 | 35 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 30 | 0.8% | 7 | 26 |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 17 | 0.4% | 0 | 3 |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 15 | 0.4% | 11 | 16 |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 14 | 0.4% | 10 | 8 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 12 | 0.3% | 21 | 22 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 9 | 0.2% | 7 | 12 |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 6 | 0.2% | 10 | 10 |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 5 | 0.1% | 0 | 5 |
| CW1 | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands transitional worker | 3 | 0.1% | 4 | 21 |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 2 | 0.1% | 1 | 0 |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 2 | 0.1% | 6 | 4 |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 2 | 0.1% | 5 | 0 |
| P4 | Spouse or child of P-1, P-2, or P-3 | 2 | 0.1% | 2 | 0 |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 1 | 0% | 0 | 1 |
| CW2 | Spouse or child of CW-1 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 5 |
| E1 | Treaty trader, spouse or child | 1 | 0% | 4 | 15 |
| TD | Spouse or child of TN | 1 | 0% | 0 | 1 |
Immigrant classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | Jan 2025 | Share | Dec 2024 | Jan 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 72 | 24.7% | 99 | 391 |
| I5 | Investor pilot program (regional center) in targeted area, spouse and child (I51-I53) | 46 | 15.8% | 80 | 6 |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 41 | 14.1% | 64 | 46 |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 40 | 13.7% | 42 | 53 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 26 | 8.9% | 24 | 33 |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 12 | 4.1% | 8 | 58 |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 11 | 3.8% | 13 | 3 |
| EW | Employment third preference, other worker (subgroup numerical limit), spouse and child (EW3, EW4, EW5) | 9 | 3.1% | 14 | 17 |
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 8 | 2.7% | 0 | 8 |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 7 | 2.4% | 8 | 41 |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 7 | 2.4% | 1 | 1 |
| C5 | Employment creation (EB-5) outside targeted areas, spouse and child (C51-C53) | 3 | 1% | 0 | 0 |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 2 | 0.7% | 5 | 0 |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 2 | 0.7% | 2 | 4 |
| IR3 | Orphan adopted abroad by U.S. citizen | 2 | 0.7% | 0 | 8 |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 1 | 0.3% | 5 | 0 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 1 | 0.3% | 4 | 3 |
| SB1 | Returning resident | 1 | 0.3% | 1 | 0 |
Context
| January 2025 | Seoul | All posts |
|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas | 3,972 | 954,595 |
| Change on previous month | -37% | +8% |
| Change on same month a year earlier | -29% | +9% |
| Immigrant visas | 291 | 54,288 |
Nearest wait-time reading on or before the end of Jan 2025 (6 Jan 2025): B1/B2 next available 9 days; F, M, J 9 days; H, L, O, P, Q 11 days.
Other months at this post: Sep 2025 · Aug 2025 · Jul 2025 · Jun 2025 · May 2025 · Apr 2025 · Mar 2025 · Feb 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 Seoul page.
Questions and answers
How many visas did Seoul issue in January 2025?
3,972 nonimmigrant visas and 291 immigrant visas, per the State Department's monthly tables for January 2025. That was the 52th largest nonimmigrant count among 216 posts that month.
How did January 2025 compare with the month before and a year earlier at Seoul?
December 2024: 6,270 nonimmigrant visas (-37% to Jan 2025). January 2024: 5,600 (-29%).
Which classes made up the month?
B1/B2 825 (20.8%), J1 515 (13%), E2 416 (10.5%), F1 375 (9.4%), C1/D 369 (9.3%).
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 January 2025, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.