Visa classes › Special immigrants and other › SQ1
SQ1 · immigrant visa · Special immigrants and other
SQ1: Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government
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.
SQ1 is the State Department's symbol for "Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government". 226 SQ1 immigrant visas were issued worldwide in September 2025, down 64% on September 2024 (620), 0.5% of the month's immigrant issuances and the 15th largest class of 49.
The Department publishes annual totals for immigrant classes separately, in its Report of the Visa Office immigrant visa tables, which this site does not yet carry; this site does not add monthly reports together.
20 posts issued at least one SQ1 visa in September 2025. The largest were Islamabad (144, 63.7%), Frankfurt (15, 6.6%) and Baghdad (11, 4.9%).
By foreign state of chargeability, the largest groups that month were Afghanistan (222) and Iraq (4).
The Department publishes annual totals separately, in its Report of the Visa Office; monthly reports are not summed on this site.
Issuances by month
Compared with its group and all immigrant classes
| Measure | SQ1 | Special immigrants and other group | All immigrant classes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visas issued, Sep 2025 | 226 | 1,025 | 45,966 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | -64% | — | -21% |
| Share of immigrant issuances, Sep 2025 | 0.5% | 2.2% | 100% |
Posts issuing the most SQ1 visas, September 2025
20 posts issued at least one in the month. Shares of the month's SQ1 total: Islamabad 63.7%, Frankfurt 6.6%, Baghdad 4.9%, Montreal 3.5%, Doha 3.1%.
By foreign state of chargeability, September 2025
| Foreign state of chargeability | Issued, Sep 2025 | Share of SQ1 |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 222 | 98.2% |
| Iraq | 4 | 1.8% |
Other classes in the same group
- SQ3 Child of SQ1 (490 in Sep 2025)
- SQ2 Spouse of SQ1 (172 in Sep 2025)
- SB1 Returning resident (72 in Sep 2025)
- GV3 Child of GV1 (15 in Sep 2025)
- AM Vietnam Amerasian principal, spouse, child or natural mot… (11 in Sep 2025)
- SI3 Child of SI1 (11 in Sep 2025)
- GV2 Spouse of GV1 (8 in Sep 2025)
- GV1 Certain employee or former employee of the U.S. Governmen… (6 in Sep 2025)
- SU Spouse, child or parent of U1 (SU2, SU3, SU5) (6 in Sep 2025)
- SI1 Certain aliens employed by the U.S. Government in Iraq or… (4 in Sep 2025)
- SI2 Spouse of SI1 (4 in Sep 2025)
- AM1 Vietnam Amerasian principal (0 in Sep 2025)
- AM2 Spouse or child of AM1 (0 in Sep 2025)
- AM3 Natural mother of AM1 (and spouse or child of such mother… (0 in Sep 2025)
- B21 Immigrant visa class B21 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- B22 Immigrant visa class B22 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- B23 Immigrant visa class B23 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- B24 Immigrant visa class B24 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- B2B Immigrant visa class B2B (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- BC1 Immigrant visa class BC1 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- BC2 Immigrant visa class BC2 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- BC3 Immigrant visa class BC3 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- BX1 Immigrant visa class BX1 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- BX2 Immigrant visa class BX2 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- BX3 Immigrant visa class BX3 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- C21 Immigrant visa class C21 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- C23 Immigrant visa class C23 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- C2A Immigrant visa class C2A (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- C51 Immigrant visa class C51 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
- C52 Immigrant visa class C52 (no description in the Departmen… (0 in Sep 2025)
Questions and answers
What is a SQ1 visa?
The State Department's symbol list describes SQ1 as "Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government". It is an immigrant visa class.
How many SQ1 visas were issued last year?
In September 2025, the latest monthly report, 226 SQ1 visas were issued. The Department publishes annual totals separately; this site does not add monthly reports together.
How does September 2025 compare with a year earlier for SQ1?
226 issued, down 64% on September 2024 (620).
Which posts issue the most SQ1 visas?
In September 2025: Islamabad (144), Frankfurt (15), Baghdad (11), Montreal (8) and Doha (7), out of 20 posts that issued any.
Where does this data come from?
The State Department's monthly immigrant visa issuance tables by post and by foreign state of chargeability, March 2017 to September 2025. Class descriptions are the Department's own.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, monthly immigrant visa issuance tables by post and by foreign state of chargeability, Mar 2017 to Sep 2025, public domain. The class description is quoted from the Department's Immigrant Visa Symbols list. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.