Immigrant visa issuance continued to climb in fiscal year 2023, surpassing pre-pandemic totals, according to recently published State Department statistics.

According to the Report of the Visa Office 2023, the State Department issued a total of 562,976 immigrant visas, up more than 14% from last year’s total of 493,448. Visa issuance plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic but has rebounded in each of the last two fiscal years.

Fiscal Year Immigrant Visas Issued Globally
2023 562,976
2022 493,448
2021 285,069
2020 240,526
2019 462,422
2018 533,557

The State Department previously announced that it issued a near record 10.4 million nonimmigrant visas in fiscal year 2023.

Additional Information: BAL Senior Counsel Tiffany Derentz will host Julie Stufft, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for visa services, at a BAL Community event tomorrow, March 19. The discussion will offer insights on administrative processing, the domestic visa renewal pilot program and additional information about what’s ahead for the Visa Office this year. The 45-minute discussion will begin at 1 p.m. ET.

For more information on the event, visit BAL Community.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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