Seoul · South Korea · May 2025
Visas issued at Seoul in May 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) | May 2025 | Share | Apr 2025 | May 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 1,944 | 31.1% | 810 | 2,573 |
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 936 | 15% | 1,164 | 1,891 |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 755 | 12.1% | 404 | 1,021 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 379 | 6.1% | 479 | 289 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 330 | 5.3% | 233 | 456 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 318 | 5.1% | 466 | 387 |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 303 | 4.8% | 415 | 579 |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 252 | 4% | 289 | 274 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 244 | 3.9% | 165 | 375 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 203 | 3.2% | 246 | 199 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 183 | 2.9% | 106 | 255 |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 113 | 1.8% | 189 | 24 |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 74 | 1.2% | 191 | 96 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 51 | 0.8% | 48 | 76 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 41 | 0.7% | 46 | 39 |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 22 | 0.4% | 23 | 29 |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 15 | 0.2% | 12 | 15 |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 14 | 0.2% | 5 | 15 |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 13 | 0.2% | 5 | 12 |
| E1 | Treaty trader, spouse or child | 11 | 0.2% | 1 | 10 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 10 | 0.2% | 14 | 14 |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 9 | 0.1% | 17 | 4 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 9 | 0.1% | 8 | 12 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 8 | 0.1% | 14 | 19 |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 4 | 0.1% | 6 | 10 |
| E2C | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands investor, spouse or child | 4 | 0.1% | 4 | 2 |
| P4 | Spouse or child of P-1, P-2, or P-3 | 3 | 0% | 0 | 1 |
| TD | Spouse or child of TN | 3 | 0% | 5 | 0 |
| CW1 | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands transitional worker | 2 | 0% | 2 | 9 |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 2 | 0% | 3 | 3 |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 1 | 0% | 1 | 4 |
| E3 | Australian specialty occupation professional | 1 | 0% | 2 | 0 |
| H3 | Trainee | 1 | 0% | 1 | 0 |
Immigrant classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | May 2025 | Share | Apr 2025 | May 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I5 | Investor pilot program (regional center) in targeted area, spouse and child (I51-I53) | 128 | 30.3% | 103 | 44 |
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 62 | 14.7% | 92 | 270 |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 44 | 10.4% | 42 | 95 |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 44 | 10.4% | 49 | 42 |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 33 | 7.8% | 23 | 59 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 30 | 7.1% | 39 | 32 |
| EW | Employment third preference, other worker (subgroup numerical limit), spouse and child (EW3, EW4, EW5) | 25 | 5.9% | 27 | 17 |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 12 | 2.8% | 7 | 10 |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 11 | 2.6% | 2 | 1 |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 8 | 1.9% | 0 | 3 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 8 | 1.9% | 6 | 5 |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 4 | 0.9% | 4 | 0 |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 4 | 0.9% | 2 | 2 |
| F2B | Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or daughter of lawful permanent resident, and child (F24, F25, C24, C25, B24, B25) | 3 | 0.7% | 2 | 1 |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 3 | 0.7% | 1 | 1 |
| IR3 | Orphan adopted abroad by U.S. citizen | 2 | 0.5% | 3 | 10 |
| CR2 | Child of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 1 | 0.2% | 0 | 0 |
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 1 | 0.2% | 0 | 4 |
Context
| May 2025 | Seoul | All posts |
|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas | 6,258 | 897,937 |
| Change on previous month | +16% | -10% |
| Change on same month a year earlier | -28% | -16% |
| Immigrant visas | 423 | 46,751 |
Nearest wait-time reading on or before the end of May 2025 (1 May 2025): B1/B2 next available 0.5 months; F, M, J under ½ month; H, L, O, P, Q under ½ month.
Other months at this post: Sep 2025 · Aug 2025 · Jul 2025 · Jun 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 · Dec 2023 · Nov 2023 · Oct 2023. Back to the Seoul page.
Questions and answers
How many visas did Seoul issue in May 2025?
6,258 nonimmigrant visas and 423 immigrant visas, per the State Department's monthly tables for May 2025. That was the 35th largest nonimmigrant count among 217 posts that month.
How did May 2025 compare with the month before and a year earlier at Seoul?
April 2025: 5,380 nonimmigrant visas (+16% to May 2025). May 2024: 8,703 (-28%).
Which classes made up the month?
F1 1,944 (31.1%), B1/B2 936 (15%), J1 755 (12.1%), A2 379 (6.1%), J2 330 (5.3%).
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 May 2025, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.