US State Department Releases Summary of 2023 Worldwide Visa Operations

• On January 2, 2024, the Department of State (DOS) released a summary of its FY 2023 worldwide visa operations. Some highlights from the summary are:

  • More nonimmigrant visas (NIVs) were issued worldwide in 2023 than in any year since 2015 (more than 10.4 million NIV issued worldwide);

  • DOS has continued to make use of the discretionary visa waiver tool and approximately 40% of the over 10.4 million NIVs issued did not require the applicant to attend an in-person interview, thus making interview slots available for first-time applicants and others who need them;

  • 563,000 immigrant visas were issued worldwide in FY 2023, and 30 of the State Department’s international missions issued their largest number of immigrant visas ever;

  • Consular sections worldwide have reduced the overall immigrant visa interview scheduling backlog by nearly half, from nearly 532,000 cases in the backlog as of July 2021, to just over 275,500.

  • The State Department issued 830,000 student and exchange visitor visas in FY 2023, more than in any year since FY 2016.