This is an automatically generated report on immigration from Saudi Arabia 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 20,020 nonimmigrant visas issued for Saudi Arabia, compared to a global average of 13,960 nonimmigrant visas issued per country. This represents a -34% change from the previous fiscal year.
| Visa | FY 2021 | FY2020 | % Change | FY2016 | 2021-2016 % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business visitor or tourist (B1/B2) | 7,380 | 22,190 | -66.7% | 78,042 | -90.5% |
| Student (F1) | 4,841 | 2,595 | 86.6% | 16,474 | -70.6% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A2) | 3,392 | 2,615 | 29.7% | 4,757 | -28.7% |
| Dependents of F1 visa holder (F2) | 2,122 | 895 | 137.1% | 5,836 | -63.6% |
| Crewmember (D) | 505 | 449 | 12.5% | 756 | -33.2% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A1) | 475 | 310 | 53.2% | 604 | -21.4% |
| Student for vocational purposes (M1) | 280 | 140 | 100% | 484 | -42.1% |
| Exchange Visitor (J1) | 254 | 298 | -14.8% | 860 | -70.5% |
| Exchange Visitor (J2) | 227 | 205 | 10.7% | 489 | -53.6% |
| Intra-company transferee (L2) | 106 | 45 | 135.6% | 394 | -73.1% |
From 2022-07-01 to 2021-08-01 there were 1,225 immigrant visas issued for Saudi Arabia compared to a global average of 2,409 immigrant visas per country over the same time period.
| Visa | Total Visas Issued |
|---|---|
| Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) | 276 |
| Professionals and Other Workers (E3) | 263 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1) | 169 |
| Unmarried children of IR1 Visa Holders (IR2) | 119 |
| Family of Lawful Permanent Resident (FX) | 102 |
| Siblings of US citizens and/or their children and spouses (F4) | 70 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (CR1) | 58 |
| Parents of US Citizen (IR5) | 41 |
| Married children of US citizens and their spouses and their children (F3) | 38 |
| Returning Resident (SB1) | 30 |
For Fiscal Year 2020, 1,854 people from Saudi Arabia were granted permanent residence in the US, also known as a “green card”.
| Admission Class | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens | 641 |
| Employment-based preferences | 526 |
| Diversity | 275 |
| Family-sponsored preferences | 234 |
| Refugees and asylees | 167 |
| Other | 11 |
| US State | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| California | 281 |
| Texas | 219 |
| New York | 134 |
| Illinois | 127 |
| Michigan | 110 |
| Virginia | 106 |
| Ohio | 83 |
| Florida | 82 |
| Washington | 69 |
| New Jersey | 65 |
| Metro Area | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 158 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 119 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 110 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 107 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 101 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 87 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 78 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | 65 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 61 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 33 |
Moving on the refugees and asylees (asylum seekers), in FY 2020 there were new refugee arrivals and 56 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, 45 were affirmative asylees, who had proactively applied for asylum, and 11 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, 104 people from Saudi Arabia were determined inadmissible, meaning they were not approved to enter the US. A further 94 were apprehended within the US on suspicion of being there illegally, of which 14 were removed for non-criminal charges and 29 were removed on criminal charges, with the remainder either released on still awaiting a final decision.