This is an automatically generated report on immigration from Somalia 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 163 nonimmigrant visas issued for Somalia, compared to a global average of 13,960 nonimmigrant visas issued per country. This represents a 58% change from the previous fiscal year.
| Visa | FY 2021 | FY2020 | % Change | FY2016 | 2021-2016 % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student (F1) | 83 | 2 | 4050% | 50 | 66% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A2) | 18 | 5 | 260% | 15 | 20% |
| Business visitor or tourist (B1/B2) | 18 | 38 | -52.6% | 221 | -91.9% |
| Fiancé(e) to marry U.S. Citizen & live in U.S. (K1) | 15 | 17 | -11.8% | 54 | -72.2% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A1) | 13 | 5 | 160% | 14 | -7.1% |
| Employee of a designated international organization or NATO (G4) | 10 | 22 | -54.5% | 15 | -33.3% |
| Employee of a designated international organization or NATO (G1) | 5 | 0 | Inf% | 10 | -50% |
| Business visitor or domestic employee (B1) | 1 | 1 | 0% | 10 | -90% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A3) | 0 | 1 | -100% | 0 | NaN% |
| Tourist (B2) | 0 | 0 | NaN% | 2 | -100% |
From 2022-07-01 to 2021-08-01 there were 865 immigrant visas issued for Somalia 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) | 249 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1) | 247 |
| Family of Lawful Permanent Resident (FX) | 141 |
| Parents of US Citizen (IR5) | 101 |
| Unmarried sons and daughters of US Citizens and their children (F1) | 47 |
| Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) | 31 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (CR1) | 27 |
| Certain Family Members of Lawful Permanent Residents (F2B) | 12 |
| Intercountry Adoption of Orphan Children by U.S. Citizens (IR3) | 4 |
| Siblings of US citizens and/or their children and spouses (F4) | 2 |
For Fiscal Year 2020, 2,024 people from Somalia 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 | 987 |
| Refugees and asylees | 883 |
| Family-sponsored preferences | 139 |
| Employment-based preferences | 12 |
| Diversity | 0 |
| Other | 0 |
| US State | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Minnesota | 842 |
| Ohio | 244 |
| Washington | 99 |
| New York | 73 |
| Nebraska | 67 |
| California | 56 |
| Texas | 49 |
| Missouri | 44 |
| Wisconsin | 40 |
| Maine | 38 |
| Metro Area | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Minneapolis-Saint Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 599 |
| Columbus, OH | 228 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 100 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 39 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 31 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | 31 |
| Non-CBSA | 29 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 28 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 27 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 24 |
Moving on the refugees and asylees (asylum seekers), in FY 2020 there were 149 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, 15 were affirmative asylees, who had proactively applied for asylum, and 16 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, 53 people from Somalia were determined inadmissible, meaning they were not approved to enter the US. A further 113 were apprehended within the US on suspicion of being there illegally, of which 26 were removed for non-criminal charges and 86 were removed on criminal charges, with the remainder either released on still awaiting a final decision.