This is an automatically generated report on immigration from Afghanistan to the United States of America using data from the US State Department and the US Department of Homeland Security.

Visa Statistics from the US State Department

Nonimmigrant Visas

For Fiscal Year 2021 there were 1,120 nonimmigrant visas issued for Afghanistan, compared to a global average of 13,960 nonimmigrant visas issued per country. This represents a -27% change from the previous fiscal year.

Most common nonimmigrant visas:

Visa FY 2021 FY2020 % Change FY2016 2021-2016 % Change
Diplomat or foreign government official (A2) 245 119 105.9% 469 -47.8%
Fiancé(e) to marry U.S. Citizen & live in U.S. (K1) 156 107 45.8% 291 -46.4%
Student (F1) 153 48 218.8% 237 -35.4%
Exchange Visitor (J1) 137 47 191.5% 286 -52.1%
Business visitor or tourist (B1/B2) 136 939 -85.5% 2,076 -93.4%
Diplomat or foreign government official (A1) 111 97 14.4% 136 -18.4%
Employee of a designated international organization or NATO (G4) 91 92 -1.1% 135 -32.6%
Employee of a designated international organization or NATO (G1) 24 33 -27.3% 32 -25%
Dependents of F1 visa holder (F2) 16 14 14.3% 21 -23.8%
Exchange Visitor (J2) 16 1 1500% 1 1500%

Immigrant Visas

From 2022-07-01 to 2021-08-01 there were 13,063 immigrant visas issued for Afghanistan compared to a global average of 2,409 immigrant visas per country over the same time period.

Most common immigrant visas:

Visa Total Visas Issued
Iraqis and Afghanis Who worked for/on Behalf of the U.S. Government (SQ) 7,911
Unknown or nonstandard visa classification (CQ) 1,695
Iraqis and Afghanis Who worked for/on Behalf of the U.S. Government (SQ3) 1,140
Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) 449
Iraqis and Afghanis Who worked for/on Behalf of the U.S. Government (SQ1) 402
Family of Lawful Permanent Resident (FX) 370
Iraqis and Afghanis Who worked for/on Behalf of the U.S. Government (SQ2) 361
Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1) 299
Parents of US Citizen (IR5) 206
Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (CR1) 71

Immigration Statistics from the US Department of Homeland Security

Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Moving on the refugees and asylees (asylum seekers), in FY 2020 there were 603 new refugee arrivals and 66 new asylees. The primary difference between refugees and asylees is that refugees are not currently in the US while asylees are either already in the US or at a point of entry. Among asylees, 46 were affirmative asylees, who had proactively applied for asylum, and 20 were defensive asylees, meaning they are currently in removal proceedings in an immigration court.

Sometimes immigrants, legal or otherwise, must be removed from their host country. In FY 2020, 52 people from Afghanistan were determined inadmissible, meaning they were not approved to enter the US. A further 26 were apprehended within the US on suspicion of being there illegally, of which 14 were removed for non-criminal charges and 12 were removed on criminal charges, with the remainder either released on still awaiting a final decision.