This is an automatically generated report on immigration from Korea, South to the United States of America using data from the US State Department and the US Department of Homeland Security.
For Fiscal Year 2021 there were 43,555 nonimmigrant visas issued for Korea, South, compared to a global average of 13,960 nonimmigrant visas issued per country. This represents a 16% change from the previous fiscal year.
| Visa | FY 2021 | FY2020 | % Change | FY2016 | 2021-2016 % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student (F1) | 15,890 | 9,450 | 68.1% | 25,355 | -37.3% |
| Exchange Visitor (J1) | 4,662 | 5,318 | -12.3% | 9,673 | -51.8% |
| Treaty trader or investor (E2) | 3,541 | 1,973 | 79.5% | 2,020 | 75.3% |
| Business visitor or tourist (B1/B2) | 3,219 | 6,065 | -46.9% | 13,378 | -75.9% |
| Exchange Visitor (J2) | 2,505 | 2,327 | 7.6% | 4,404 | -43.1% |
| Transiting the United States (C1/D) | 2,469 | 3,050 | -19% | 4,463 | -44.7% |
| Intra-company transferee (L2) | 2,181 | 1,280 | 70.4% | 2,206 | -1.1% |
| Dependents of F1 visa holder (F2) | 2,146 | 1,461 | 46.9% | 3,136 | -31.6% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A2) | 1,462 | 1,719 | -15% | 2,640 | -44.6% |
| Intra-company transferee (L1) | 1,380 | 885 | 55.9% | 1,841 | -25% |
From 2022-07-01 to 2021-08-01 there were 4,909 immigrant visas issued for Korea, South compared to a global average of 2,409 immigrant visas per country over the same time period.
| Visa | Total Visas Issued |
|---|---|
| Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees and Persons of Exceptional Ability (E2) | 1,483 |
| Professionals and Other Workers (E3) | 595 |
| Parents of US Citizen (IR5) | 522 |
| Siblings of US citizens and/or their children and spouses (F4) | 328 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1) | 294 |
| Family of Lawful Permanent Resident (FX) | 270 |
| Professionals and Other Workers (EW) | 212 |
| Employment Creation/Investors (I5) | 205 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (CR1) | 198 |
| Married children of US citizens and their spouses and their children (F3) | 174 |
For Fiscal Year 2020, 16,244 people from Korea, South were granted permanent residence in the US, also known as a “green card”.
| Admission Class | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Employment-based preferences | 10,736 |
| Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens | 4,522 |
| Family-sponsored preferences | 955 |
| Other | 18 |
| Diversity | 8 |
| Refugees and asylees | 5 |
| US State | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| California | 5,105 |
| New York | 1,597 |
| Texas | 1,271 |
| New Jersey | 1,028 |
| Washington | 804 |
| Georgia | 737 |
| Virginia | 548 |
| Illinois | 530 |
| Michigan | 381 |
| Alabama | 370 |
| Metro Area | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 3,186 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 2,422 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 765 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 719 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 628 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | 602 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 577 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | 520 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 480 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 305 |
Moving on the refugees and asylees (asylum seekers), in FY 2020 there were new refugee arrivals and 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, were affirmative asylees, who had proactively applied for asylum, and 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, 2,661 people from Korea, South were determined inadmissible, meaning they were not approved to enter the US. A further 143 were apprehended within the US on suspicion of being there illegally, of which 87 were removed for non-criminal charges and 70 were removed on criminal charges, with the remainder either released on still awaiting a final decision.