Posts › Abu Dhabi › October 2023
Abu Dhabi · United Arab Emirates · October 2023
Visas issued at Abu Dhabi in October 2023
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) | Oct 2023 | Share | Sep 2023 | Oct 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 3,292 | 85.1% | 3,425 | 2,677 |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 127 | 3.3% | 104 | 116 |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 93 | 2.4% | 120 | 92 |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 68 | 1.8% | 54 | 56 |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 51 | 1.3% | 27 | 66 |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 44 | 1.1% | 20 | 27 |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 41 | 1.1% | 39 | 28 |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 31 | 0.8% | 22 | 11 |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 29 | 0.7% | 26 | 31 |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 22 | 0.6% | 28 | 2 |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 19 | 0.5% | 15 | 21 |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 16 | 0.4% | 18 | 6 |
| D | Crewmember (sea or air) | 10 | 0.3% | 19 | 23 |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 5 | 0.1% | 6 | 1 |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 5 | 0.1% | 3 | 3 |
| O3 | Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2 | 5 | 0.1% | 1 | 1 |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 4 | 0.1% | 2 | 0 |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 2 | 0.1% | 1 | 2 |
| A3 | Attendant, servant, or personal employee of A1 or A2, or immediate family | 1 | 0% | 15 | 2 |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 1 | 0% | 3 | 6 |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 1 | 0% | 2 | 2 |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 1 | 0% | 0 | 3 |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| P4 | Spouse or child of P-1, P-2, or P-3 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0 |
Immigrant classes
| Class | Description (State Department) | Oct 2023 | Share | Sep 2023 | Oct 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 128 | 28.1% | 79 | 68 |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 71 | 15.6% | 68 | 53 |
| SQ3 | Child of SQ1 | 61 | 13.4% | 10 | 11 |
| DV | Diversity immigrant (DV1, DV2, DV3) | 47 | 10.3% | 40 | 38 |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 28 | 6.1% | 6 | 295 |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 22 | 4.8% | 20 | 39 |
| E2 | Employment second preference: professional holding advanced degree or alien of exceptional ability, spouse and child (E21-E23) | 19 | 4.2% | 0 | 11 |
| SQ1 | Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government | 14 | 3.1% | 8 | 9 |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 12 | 2.6% | 5 | 11 |
| SQ2 | Spouse of SQ1 | 11 | 2.4% | 4 | 3 |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 9 | 2% | 13 | 10 |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 7 | 1.5% | 23 | 28 |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 6 | 1.3% | 4 | 19 |
| F2B | Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or daughter of lawful permanent resident, and child (F24, F25, C24, C25, B24, B25) | 5 | 1.1% | 3 | 3 |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 5 | 1.1% | 1 | 20 |
| I5 | Investor pilot program (regional center) in targeted area, spouse and child (I51-I53) | 5 | 1.1% | 0 | 5 |
| E1 | Employment first preference (priority workers): person with extraordinary ability, outstanding professor or researcher, multinational executive or manager, spouse and child (E11-E15) | 3 | 0.7% | 0 | 10 |
| SB1 | Returning resident | 2 | 0.4% | 0 | 2 |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 1 | 0.2% | 0 | 0 |
Context
| October 2023 | Abu Dhabi | All posts |
|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas | 3,870 | 885,241 |
| Change on previous month | -3% | +4% |
| Change on same month a year earlier | +21% | +26% |
| Immigrant visas | 456 | 46,695 |
Nearest wait-time reading on or before the end of Oct 2023 (12 Oct 2023): B1/B2 next available 558 days; F, M, J 3 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 · Feb 2024 · Jan 2024 · Dec 2023 · Nov 2023. Back to the Abu Dhabi page.
Questions and answers
How many visas did Abu Dhabi issue in October 2023?
3,870 nonimmigrant visas and 456 immigrant visas, per the State Department's monthly tables for October 2023. That was the 52th largest nonimmigrant count among 217 posts that month.
How did October 2023 compare with the month before and a year earlier at Abu Dhabi?
September 2023: 3,985 nonimmigrant visas (-3% to Oct 2023). October 2022: 3,186 (+21%).
Which classes made up the month?
B1/B2 3,292 (85.1%), C1/D 127 (3.3%), A2 93 (2.4%), F1 68 (1.8%), H1B 51 (1.3%).
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 October 2023, public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.