This is an automatically generated report on immigration from Sri Lanka 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 2,624 nonimmigrant visas issued for Sri Lanka, compared to a global average of 13,960 nonimmigrant visas issued per country. This represents a -45% change from the previous fiscal year.
| Visa | FY 2021 | FY2020 | % Change | FY2016 | 2021-2016 % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business visitor or tourist (B1/B2) | 997 | 3,459 | -71.2% | 10,876 | -90.8% |
| Student (F1) | 595 | 179 | 232.4% | 841 | -29.3% |
| Transiting the United States (C1/D) | 382 | 410 | -6.8% | 1,325 | -71.2% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A2) | 138 | 95 | 45.3% | 219 | -37% |
| Exchange Visitor (J1) | 63 | 64 | -1.6% | 150 | -58% |
| Dependents of F1 visa holder (F2) | 61 | 24 | 154.2% | 146 | -58.2% |
| Employee of a designated international organization or NATO (G1) | 43 | 22 | 95.5% | 36 | 19.4% |
| Employee of a designated international organization or NATO (G4) | 43 | 61 | -29.5% | 78 | -44.9% |
| Transiting the United States (C1) | 42 | 53 | -20.8% | 84 | -50% |
| Business visitor or domestic employee (B1) | 33 | 40 | -17.5% | 141 | -76.6% |
From 2022-07-01 to 2021-08-01 there were 1,845 immigrant visas issued for Sri Lanka 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) | 843 |
| Parents of US Citizen (IR5) | 221 |
| Family of Lawful Permanent Resident (FX) | 213 |
| Siblings of US citizens and/or their children and spouses (F4) | 194 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1) | 77 |
| Certain Special Immigrant (SE) | 67 |
| Professionals and Other Workers (E3) | 53 |
| Married children of US citizens and their spouses and their children (F3) | 51 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (CR1) | 26 |
| Unmarried children of IR1 Visa Holders (IR2) | 25 |
For Fiscal Year 2020, 1,463 people from Sri Lanka were granted permanent residence in the US, also known as a “green card”.
| Admission Class | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Employment-based preferences | 632 |
| Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens | 360 |
| Diversity | 192 |
| Refugees and asylees | 137 |
| Family-sponsored preferences | 131 |
| Other | 11 |
| US State | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| California | 256 |
| New York | 168 |
| Texas | 146 |
| New Jersey | 96 |
| Maryland | 90 |
| Massachusetts | 57 |
| Illinois | 54 |
| Washington | 47 |
| Virginia | 43 |
| Florida | 41 |
| Metro Area | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 229 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 124 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 114 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 61 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 49 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 46 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 44 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 44 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 40 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 29 |
Moving on the refugees and asylees (asylum seekers), in FY 2020 there were 42 new refugee arrivals and 79 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, 22 were affirmative asylees, who had proactively applied for asylum, and 57 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, 885 people from Sri Lanka were determined inadmissible, meaning they were not approved to enter the US. A further 254 were apprehended within the US on suspicion of being there illegally, of which 107 were removed for non-criminal charges and 12 were removed on criminal charges, with the remainder either released on still awaiting a final decision.