This is an automatically generated report on immigration from El Salvador 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 20,444 nonimmigrant visas issued for El Salvador, compared to a global average of 13,960 nonimmigrant visas issued per country. This represents a 14% change from the previous fiscal year.

Most common nonimmigrant visas:

Visa FY 2021 FY2020 % Change FY2016 2021-2016 % Change
Business visitor or tourist (B1/B2) 16,891 16,159 4.5% 46,850 -63.9%
Temporary worker performing other services or labor of a temporary or seasonal nature (H2B) 953 149 539.6% 572 66.6%
Diplomat or foreign government official (A2) 639 275 132.4% 768 -16.8%
Student (F1) 366 147 149% 499 -26.7%
Temporary agricultural worker (H2A) 284 168 69% 61 365.6%
Exchange Visitor (J1) 210 154 36.4% 271 -22.5%
Transiting the United States (C1/D) 182 139 30.9% 244 -25.4%
Fiancé(e) to marry U.S. Citizen & live in U.S. (K1) 158 152 3.9% 253 -37.5%
Victim of Criminal Activity (U3) 133 52 155.8% 189 -29.6%
Diplomat or foreign government official (A1) 79 78 1.3% 26 203.8%

Immigrant Visas

From 2022-07-01 to 2021-08-01 there were 17,895 immigrant visas issued for El Salvador 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
Family of Lawful Permanent Resident (FX) 5,655
Certain Family Members of Lawful Permanent Residents (F2B) 2,352
Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1) 2,291
Unmarried sons and daughters of US Citizens and their children (F1) 1,711
Parents of US Citizen (IR5) 1,534
Unmarried children of IR1 Visa Holders (IR2) 1,476
Siblings of US citizens and/or their children and spouses (F4) 1,253
Married children of US citizens and their spouses and their children (F3) 870
Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (CR1) 307
Professionals and Other Workers (EW) 177

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 362 new refugee arrivals and NA 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, 291 were affirmative asylees, who had proactively applied for asylum, and 1,721 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, 1,086 people from El Salvador were determined inadmissible, meaning they were not approved to enter the US. A further 23,051 were apprehended within the US on suspicion of being there illegally, of which 6937 were removed for non-criminal charges and 5001 were removed on criminal charges, with the remainder either released on still awaiting a final decision.