This is an automatically generated report on immigration from Spain 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 20,017 nonimmigrant visas issued for Spain, compared to a global average of 13,960 nonimmigrant visas issued per country. This represents a 69% change from the previous fiscal year.
| Visa | FY 2021 | FY2020 | % Change | FY2016 | 2021-2016 % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Visitor (J1) | 8,248 | 2,796 | 195% | 9,670 | -14.7% |
| Student (F1) | 5,087 | 1,786 | 184.8% | 4,138 | 22.9% |
| Exchange Visitor (J2) | 892 | 315 | 183.2% | 1,332 | -33% |
| Treaty trader or investor (E2) | 760 | 583 | 30.4% | 1,522 | -50.1% |
| Intra-company transferee (L2) | 644 | 562 | 14.6% | 1,299 | -50.4% |
| Intra-company transferee (L1) | 540 | 617 | -12.5% | 1,268 | -57.4% |
| Transiting the United States (C1/D) | 538 | 557 | -3.4% | 2,861 | -81.2% |
| Specialty occupations in fields requiring highly specialized knowledge (H1B) | 411 | 398 | 3.3% | 809 | -49.2% |
| Business visitor or domestic employee (B1) | 343 | 67 | 411.9% | 73 | 369.9% |
| Business visitor or tourist (B1/B2) | 328 | 2,115 | -84.5% | 6,566 | -95% |
From 2022-07-01 to 2021-08-01 there were 541 immigrant visas issued for Spain 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) | 86 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1) | 68 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (CR1) | 65 |
| Unmarried children of IR1 Visa Holders (IR2) | 55 |
| Professionals and Other Workers (E3) | 51 |
| Priority Workers (E1) | 48 |
| Parents of US Citizen (IR5) | 41 |
| Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees and Persons of Exceptional Ability (E2) | 28 |
| Family of Lawful Permanent Resident (FX) | 26 |
| Unmarried sons and daughters of US Citizens and their children (F1) | 17 |
For Fiscal Year 2020, 2,620 people from Spain were granted permanent residence in the US, also known as a “green card”.
| Admission Class | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Employment-based preferences | 1,391 |
| Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens | 946 |
| Refugees and asylees | 148 |
| Family-sponsored preferences | 85 |
| Diversity | 44 |
| Other | 6 |
| US State | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Florida | 564 |
| New York | 395 |
| California | 382 |
| Texas | 222 |
| Massachusetts | 121 |
| New Jersey | 93 |
| Illinois | 81 |
| Washington | 65 |
| Virginia | 63 |
| North Carolina | 50 |
| Metro Area | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 440 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 434 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | 119 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 114 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 112 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 89 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 77 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 75 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 71 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 62 |
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, 1,234 people from Spain were determined inadmissible, meaning they were not approved to enter the US. A further 132 were apprehended within the US on suspicion of being there illegally, of which 130 were removed for non-criminal charges and 61 were removed on criminal charges, with the remainder either released on still awaiting a final decision.