This is an automatically generated report on immigration from Tonga 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 50 nonimmigrant visas issued for Tonga, compared to a global average of 13,960 nonimmigrant visas issued per country. This represents a -89% change from the previous fiscal year.
| Visa | FY 2021 | FY2020 | % Change | FY2016 | 2021-2016 % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business visitor or tourist (B1/B2) | 16 | 385 | -95.8% | 2,051 | -99.2% |
| Employee of a designated international organization or NATO (G4) | 12 | 0 | Inf% | 6 | 100% |
| Transiting the United States (C1) | 6 | 2 | 200% | 2 | 200% |
| Exchange Visitor (J1) | 6 | 13 | -53.8% | 68 | -91.2% |
| Fiancé(e) to marry U.S. Citizen & live in U.S. (K1) | 5 | 2 | 150% | 10 | -50% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A1) | 3 | 5 | -40% | 13 | -76.9% |
| Student (F1) | 1 | 2 | -50% | 16 | -93.8% |
| Performing athlete or artist or entertainer (P1) | 1 | 2 | -50% | 0 | Inf% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A2) | 0 | 16 | -100% | 97 | -100% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A3) | 0 | 1 | -100% | 3 | -100% |
From 2022-07-01 to 2021-08-01 there were 102 immigrant visas issued for Tonga 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) | 28 |
| Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) | 27 |
| Married children of US citizens and their spouses and their children (F3) | 21 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1) | 11 |
| Siblings of US citizens and/or their children and spouses (F4) | 7 |
| Parents of US Citizen (IR5) | 3 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (CR1) | 2 |
| Family of Lawful Permanent Resident (FX) | 1 |
| Certain Spouses of Deceased U.S. Citizens (IW) | 1 |
| Returning Resident (SB1) | 1 |
For Fiscal Year 2020, 202 people from Tonga 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 | 171 |
| Family-sponsored preferences | 17 |
| Diversity | 8 |
| Employment-based preferences | 0 |
| Refugees and asylees | 0 |
| Other | 0 |
| US State | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| California | 87 |
| Utah | 43 |
| Hawaii | 35 |
| Arizona | 7 |
| Oregon | 6 |
| Washington | 6 |
| Alaska | 3 |
| Nevada | 3 |
| Texas | 3 |
| Alabama | 0 |
| Metro Area | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | 44 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 25 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | 24 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 14 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 13 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 7 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 7 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 6 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 5 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 0 |
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, 42 people from Tonga were determined inadmissible, meaning they were not approved to enter the US. A further 14 were apprehended within the US on suspicion of being there illegally, of which 3 were removed for non-criminal charges and 32 were removed on criminal charges, with the remainder either released on still awaiting a final decision.