Posts › Seoul › September 2025
Seoul · South Korea · September 2025
Visas issued at Seoul in September 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) | Sep 2025 | Share | Aug 2025 | Sep 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 1,265 | 29.1% | 968 | 963 |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 478 | 11% | 524 | 351 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 364 | 8.4% | 308 | 268 |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 340 | 7.8% | 754 | 335 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 287 | 6.6% | 241 | 152 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 279 | 6.4% | 368 | 225 |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 251 | 5.8% | 248 | 120 |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 236 | 5.4% | 136 | 54 |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 187 | 4.3% | 1,568 | 238 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 169 | 3.9% | 286 | 112 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 157 | 3.6% | 161 | 163 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 69 | 1.6% | 101 | 31 |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 59 | 1.4% | 159 | 145 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 49 | 1.1% | 73 | 63 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 30 | 0.7% | 36 | 43 |
| I | Representative of foreign information media, spouse and children | 28 | 0.6% | 13 | 9 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 17 | 0.4% | 8 | 26 |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 15 | 0.3% | 0 | 9 |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 13 | 0.3% | 14 | 13 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 10 | 0.2% | 69 | 3 |
| R1 | Alien in a religious occupation | 9 | 0.2% | 10 | 17 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 8 | 0.2% | 17 | 8 |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 5 | 0.1% | 13 | 1 |
| CW1 | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands transitional worker | 4 | 0.1% | 8 | 2 |
| CW2 | Spouse or child of CW-1 | 3 | 0.1% | 0 | 2 |
| G1 | Principal resident representative of recognized foreign government to international organization, staff, or immediate family | 3 | 0.1% | 0 | 3 |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 3 | 0.1% | 0 | 2 |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 3 | 0.1% | 8 | 14 |
| TD | Spouse or child of TN | 3 | 0.1% | 1 | 0 |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 2 | 0% | 0 | 2 |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 2 | 0% | 0 | 4 |
| E1 | Treaty trader, spouse or child | 2 | 0% | 9 | 5 |
| E2C | Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands investor, spouse or child | 1 | 0% | 2 | 2 |
Immigrant classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | Sep 2025 | Share | Aug 2025 | Sep 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I5 | Investor pilot program (regional center) in targeted area, spouse and child (I51-I53) | 94 | 29.3% | 213 | 0 |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 59 | 18.4% | 39 | 17 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 49 | 15.3% | 30 | 20 |
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 44 | 13.7% | 32 | 13 |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 22 | 6.9% | 17 | 14 |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 11 | 3.4% | 3 | 6 |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 9 | 2.8% | 23 | 0 |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 9 | 2.8% | 27 | 15 |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 6 | 1.9% | 6 | 2 |
| F2B | Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or daughter of lawful permanent resident, and child (F24, F25, C24, C25, B24, B25) | 6 | 1.9% | 6 | 11 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 4 | 1.2% | 3 | 5 |
| RU3 | Child of RU1 | 2 | 0.6% | 0 | 0 |
| CR2 | Child of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 1 | 0.3% | 0 | 1 |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 1 | 0.3% | 12 | 6 |
| IR3 | Orphan adopted abroad by U.S. citizen | 1 | 0.3% | 8 | 2 |
| RH1 | Employment creation (EB-5) reserved visa, high unemployment area, regional center, principal | 1 | 0.3% | 0 | 0 |
| RU1 | Employment creation (EB-5) reserved visa, high unemployment area, principal | 1 | 0.3% | 0 | 0 |
| RU2 | Spouse of RU1 | 1 | 0.3% | 0 | 0 |
Context
| September 2025 | Seoul | All posts |
|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas | 4,351 | 823,557 |
| Change on previous month | -29% | -2% |
| Change on same month a year earlier | +27% | -11% |
| Immigrant visas | 321 | 45,966 |
Nearest wait-time reading on or before the end of Sep 2025 (7 Sep 2025): B1/B2 next available 1 month; F, M, J 1 month; H, L, O, P, Q 1 month.
Other months at this post: 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 · Jan 2024 · Dec 2023 · Nov 2023 · Oct 2023. Back to the Seoul page.
Questions and answers
How many visas did Seoul issue in September 2025?
4,351 nonimmigrant visas and 321 immigrant visas, per the State Department's monthly tables for September 2025. That was the 47th largest nonimmigrant count among 217 posts that month.
How did September 2025 compare with the month before and a year earlier at Seoul?
August 2025: 6,114 nonimmigrant visas (-29% to Sep 2025). September 2024: 3,420 (+27%).
Which classes made up the month?
B1/B2 1,265 (29.1%), E2 478 (11%), C1/D 364 (8.4%), J1 340 (7.8%), L1 287 (6.6%).
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 September 2025, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.