This is an automatically generated report on immigration from Sierra Leone 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 805 nonimmigrant visas issued for Sierra Leone, compared to a global average of 13,960 nonimmigrant visas issued per country. This represents a -7% change from the previous fiscal year.
| Visa | FY 2021 | FY2020 | % Change | FY2016 | 2021-2016 % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business visitor or tourist (B1/B2) | 388 | 597 | -35% | 1,259 | -69.2% |
| Student (F1) | 83 | 25 | 232% | 86 | -3.5% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A2) | 71 | 76 | -6.6% | 91 | -22% |
| Fiancé(e) to marry U.S. Citizen & live in U.S. (K1) | 57 | 38 | 50% | 68 | -16.2% |
| Employee of a designated international organization or NATO (G2) | 55 | 18 | 205.6% | 13 | 323.1% |
| Employee of a designated international organization or NATO (G4) | 41 | 45 | -8.9% | 65 | -36.9% |
| Tourist (B2) | 22 | 0 | Inf% | 21 | 4.8% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A1) | 18 | 13 | 38.5% | 6 | 200% |
| Employee of a designated international organization or NATO (G1) | 18 | 17 | 5.9% | 40 | -55% |
| Exchange Visitor (J1) | 18 | 12 | 50% | 58 | -69% |
From 2022-07-01 to 2021-08-01 there were 2,388 immigrant visas issued for Sierra Leone compared to a global average of 2,409 immigrant visas per country over the same time period.
| Visa | Total Visas Issued |
|---|---|
| Unmarried children of IR1 Visa Holders (IR2) | 595 |
| Family of Lawful Permanent Resident (FX) | 404 |
| Parents of US Citizen (IR5) | 341 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1) | 297 |
| Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) | 224 |
| Unmarried sons and daughters of US Citizens and their children (F1) | 202 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (CR1) | 117 |
| Siblings of US citizens and/or their children and spouses (F4) | 67 |
| Certain Family Members of Lawful Permanent Residents (F2B) | 38 |
| Certain Special Immigrant (SE) | 37 |
For Fiscal Year 2020, 713 people from Sierra Leone 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 | 496 |
| Diversity | 109 |
| Family-sponsored preferences | 69 |
| Refugees and asylees | 23 |
| Employment-based preferences | 13 |
| Other | 3 |
| US State | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Maryland | 159 |
| Virginia | 96 |
| Pennsylvania | 81 |
| New York | 60 |
| Ohio | 54 |
| New Jersey | 40 |
| California | 26 |
| Texas | 26 |
| Georgia | 22 |
| Massachusetts | 21 |
| Metro Area | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 226 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 87 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 81 |
| Columbus, OH | 52 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 24 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | 22 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 17 |
| Minneapolis-Saint Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 17 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 11 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 10 |
Moving on the refugees and asylees (asylum seekers), in FY 2020 there were D new refugee arrivals and 31 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, 23 were affirmative asylees, who had proactively applied for asylum, and 8 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, 43 people from Sierra Leone were determined inadmissible, meaning they were not approved to enter the US. A further 74 were apprehended within the US on suspicion of being there illegally, of which 12 were removed for non-criminal charges and 12 were removed on criminal charges, with the remainder either released on still awaiting a final decision.