Updated
Seoul: immigrant visas
The consulate in Seoul issued 4,394 immigrant visas from March 2025 to February 2026, 2,506 of them employment-based.
Employment cases
Nov-2023
3 years back, State's update of November 6, 2026
Family preference cases
Feb-2026
9 months back, State's update of November 6, 2026
Immediate relative cases
Jul-2026
4 months back, State's update of November 6, 2026
From the U.S. Embassy in Korea
The embassy hasn't posted a notice on consular operations or immigrant visas in the last year that this site has read.
Every visa post on the embassy's own siteEmployment
36
| Period | months back |
|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2025 | 14 |
| May 2, 2025 | 17 |
| Jun 3, 2025 | 18 |
| Sep 2, 2025 | 28 |
| Oct 9, 2025 | 23 |
| Nov 12, 2025 | 24 |
| Dec 8, 2025 | 24 |
| Jan 8, 2026 | 25 |
| Feb 3, 2026 | 25 |
| Mar 4, 2026 | 26 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | 30 |
| Jun 4, 2026 | 31 |
| Jul 8, 2026 | 32 |
| Oct 7, 2026 | 35 |
| Nov 6, 2026 | 36 |
Family preference
9
| Period | months back |
|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2025 | 2 |
| May 2, 2025 | 3 |
| Jun 3, 2025 | 4 |
| Sep 2, 2025 | 1 |
| Oct 9, 2025 | 2 |
| Nov 12, 2025 | 2 |
| Dec 8, 2025 | 1 |
| Jan 8, 2026 | 1 |
| Feb 3, 2026 | 1 |
| Mar 4, 2026 | 1 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | 2 |
| Jun 4, 2026 | 4 |
| Jul 8, 2026 | 5 |
| Oct 7, 2026 | 8 |
| Nov 6, 2026 | 9 |
Immediate relative
4
| Period | months back |
|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2025 | 1 |
| May 2, 2025 | 1 |
| Jun 3, 2025 | 1 |
| Sep 2, 2025 | 1 |
| Oct 9, 2025 | 1 |
| Nov 12, 2025 | 1 |
| Dec 8, 2025 | 0 |
| Jan 8, 2026 | 1 |
| Feb 3, 2026 | 1 |
| Mar 4, 2026 | 1 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | 2 |
| Jun 4, 2026 | 2 |
| Jul 8, 2026 | 1 |
| Oct 7, 2026 | 3 |
| Nov 6, 2026 | 4 |
Each column is one of State's monthly updates: how many months before it the cases NVC was scheduling were completed. More
673
| Period | visas |
|---|---|
| March 2023 | 430 |
| April 2023 | 481 |
| May 2023 | 392 |
| June 2023 | 473 |
| July 2023 | 172 |
| August 2023 | 151 |
| September 2023 | 478 |
| October 2023 | 517 |
| November 2023 | 646 |
| December 2023 | 371 |
| January 2024 | 673 |
| February 2024 | 430 |
| March 2024 | 555 |
| April 2024 | 564 |
| May 2024 | 596 |
| June 2024 | 650 |
| July 2024 | 143 |
| August 2024 | 360 |
| September 2024 | 181 |
| October 2024 | 537 |
| November 2024 | 374 |
| December 2024 | 378 |
| January 2025 | 291 |
| February 2025 | 318 |
| March 2025 | 347 |
| April 2025 | 402 |
| May 2025 | 423 |
| June 2025 | 374 |
| July 2025 | 385 |
| August 2025 | 461 |
| September 2025 | 321 |
| October 2025 | 398 |
| November 2025 | 289 |
| December 2025 | 327 |
| January 2026 | 344 |
| February 2026 | 323 |
- Employment
- Family (immediate relatives and preferences)
- Everything else
Each column is one month at this consulate: employment visas in lime at the foot, family in blue, everything else in yellow. More
Work visas issued here
Nonimmigrant visas the consulate in Seoul issued, from State's monthly tables. February 2026 is the newest month State has posted.
H-1B, February 2026
97
2,018 in the 12 months to February 2026
L-1, February 2026
562
3,988 in the 12 months
Every work visa, February 2026
2,005
H, L, E, O, P, Q, R, TN, CW and media visas, with the families who come with them
678
| Period | visas |
|---|---|
| March 2025 | 315 |
| April 2025 | 352 |
| May 2025 | 386 |
| June 2025 | 531 |
| July 2025 | 516 |
| August 2025 | 402 |
| September 2025 | 444 |
| October 2025 | 478 |
| November 2025 | 664 |
| December 2025 | 581 |
| January 2026 | 678 |
| February 2026 | 659 |
- H-1B
- L-1
Each column is one month: H-1B in lime at the foot, L-1 in blue above. More
Every visa class issued here
Work visas first, then everything else, visitors, students and K-1 fiancé(e) visas among them.
| Visa | What it is | February 2026 | 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| H-1B | specialty occupation worker, a work visa | 97 | 2,018 |
| H-4 | spouse or child of an H worker, a work visa | 33 | 668 |
| L-1 | intracompany transferee, a work visa | 562 | 3,988 |
| L-2 | spouse or child of an L-1, a work visa | 423 | 3,853 |
| H-1B1 | Chilean or Singaporean specialty occupation worker, a work visa | 1 | 1 |
| H-2A | temporary farm worker, a work visa | 0 | 1 |
| H-2B | temporary non-farm worker, a work visa | 0 | 7 |
| H-3 | trainee or special education exchange visitor, a work visa | 0 | 13 |
| E-1 | treaty trader, spouse or child, a work visa | 2 | 79 |
| E-2 | treaty investor, spouse or child, a work visa | 675 | 6,254 |
| E-2C | Northern Mariana Islands investor, spouse or child, a work visa | 0 | 22 |
| E-3 | Australian in a specialty occupation, a work visa | 1 | 11 |
| E-3D | spouse or child of an E-3, a work visa | 0 | 7 |
| E-3R | returning E-3, a work visa | 0 | 3 |
| O-1 | worker with extraordinary ability, a work visa | 26 | 476 |
| O-2 | assistant to an O-1, a work visa | 89 | 1,208 |
| O-3 | spouse or child of an O-1 or O-2, a work visa | 3 | 166 |
| P-1 | internationally recognized athlete or entertainer, a work visa | 7 | 1,497 |
| P-2 | artist or entertainer in a reciprocal exchange, a work visa | 5 | 5 |
| P-3 | artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program, a work visa | 0 | 38 |
| P-4 | spouse or child of a P-1, P-2 or P-3, a work visa | 1 | 8 |
| Q-1 | international cultural exchange, a work visa | 0 | 1 |
| R-1 | religious worker, a work visa | 8 | 151 |
| R-2 | spouse or child of an R-1, a work visa | 8 | 110 |
| TD | spouse or child of a TN, a work visa | 1 | 21 |
| CW-1 | Northern Mariana Islands transitional worker, a work visa | 1 | 60 |
| CW-2 | spouse or child of a CW-1, a work visa | 0 | 23 |
| I | foreign media representative, spouse or child, a work visa | 62 | 621 |
| B-1/B-2 | visitor for business and pleasure | 1,517 | 14,133 |
| B-1 | visitor for business | 784 | 3,653 |
| C-1/D | transit and crewmember | 539 | 4,914 |
| J-1 | exchange visitor | 336 | 7,197 |
| A-2 | other foreign government official or employee, or family | 240 | 3,124 |
| F-1 | academic or language student | 197 | 11,185 |
| J-2 | spouse or child of a J-1 | 166 | 2,894 |
| F-2 | spouse or child of an F-1 | 31 | 1,198 |
| A-1 | diplomat or consular officer, or family | 30 | 174 |
| G-4 | international organization officer or employee | 20 | 143 |
| G-1 | representative to an international organization | 17 | 51 |
| M-1 | vocational student | 14 | 256 |
| G-2 | other representative to an international organization | 11 | 40 |
| K-1 fiancé(e) | fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen | 7 | 113 |
| C-3 | foreign government official in transit | 4 | 55 |
| C-1 | in transit | 0 | 12 |
| K-2 | child of a K-1 fiancé(e) | 0 | 1 |
Why a visa is refused, worldwide and year by year: visa refusals by ground.
How to read State's scheduling month
State says the tool shows the documentarily complete month and year for which NVC is scheduling most interviews in your classification at the selected U.S. embassy or consulate.
If your case became documentarily complete before the month shown, NVC is scheduling cases like yours here. A preference case also needs a current priority date in the visa bulletin. It's NVC's paperwork queue, so it doesn't say whether the post is holding interviews.
Sources: U.S. Department of State, IV Scheduling Status Tool, update of November 6, 2026, and its monthly immigrant visa issuances by post through February 2026.
What people report
What people who had an appointment in Seoul report, for any visa. Visitors' own reports, unchecked. A figure shows once 3 people have reported.
Reports, last 30 days
0
0 in the last 90 days, every kind of visa. Visitors' own reports, unchecked.
Ended in 221(g)
Not yet
Too few reports yet: it shows once 3 people report a result. Visitors' own reports, unchecked.
NVC complete to interview
Not yet
Too few reports yet: it shows once 3 people give both dates. Visitors' own reports, unchecked.
Too few reports yet: no week in the last 12 has 3 interviews reported.
Each column is a week of interviews people reported held. More
Last 30 days
Too few reports yet: 0 reports so far. This shows once 3 people have reported.
Last 90 days
Too few reports yet: 0 reports so far. This shows once 3 people have reported.
Each report counts on the day of its newest step: the visa, the approval, the interview or the letter. More
Too few reports yet for any kind of visa: each shows once 3 people have reported one.
Too few reports yet for any kind of visa: each shows once 3 people have reported an appointment.
Days from the interview or the drop box to the approval or the visa, the median of the reports that finished, always beside the count still waiting: a median of the finished alone looks quicker than the wait is. More
What these reports can't tell you
They aren't a sample of everyone. People with a 221(g) or a refusal are likelier to say so than people whose visa came the next week. A share here is what the people who reported saw. It isn't the post's rate.
Nobody can check them. There's no case number, by design, so a report can't be tied to a case. State's own figures for this consulate are above this section.
The rules behind these numbers
State's IV scheduling table through Nov 6, 2026 · State visa issuances through Feb 28, 2026 · State nonimmigrant visa issuances through Feb 28, 2026 · U.S. embassies' visa notices checked Nov 8, 2026, newest Nov 4, 2026. How these figures are counted. Spotted an error? Tell us; every fix is dated in the corrections log.
The sources in full
State's IV scheduling table: State Department's IV Scheduling Status Tool (travel.state.gov, read in a browser) · data through Nov 6, 2026 · monthly, copied in a browser (state refuses scripts)
State visa issuances: State Department monthly immigrant visa issuances (state.gov) · data through Feb 28, 2026 · monthly, posted months late
State nonimmigrant visa issuances: State Department monthly nonimmigrant visa issuances by post (state.gov) · data through Feb 28, 2026 · monthly, posted about eight months late
U.S. embassies' visa notices: U.S. embassies' visa news (their sites' Visas feeds) · checked Nov 8, 2026, newest Nov 4, 2026 · daily, read in a browser
What each source includes
State's IV scheduling table: For each US consulate, the month of documentarily complete cases the National Visa Center is scheduling interviews for, as State's IV Scheduling Status Tool printed it at each monthly update. It covers employment, family preference and immediate relative cases. It's NVC's paperwork queue, so it doesn't show an interview wait or whether a post is holding interviews. Copied in a browser, since State's site refuses scripts.
State visa issuances: Immigrant visas State's consulates issued abroad each month, by visa class and by country or consulate. A green card granted inside the United States (adjustment of status at USCIS) isn't in it. For employment categories, that's most of them.
State nonimmigrant visa issuances: Nonimmigrant visas each US consulate issued each month, by visa class (H-1B, L-1, K-1 fiancé(e), visitors, students and the rest), from State's monthly tables, which State calls preliminary. Visas only: a change of status inside the United States isn't in it, and neither are refusals. Each month is checked against State's own grand total.
U.S. embassies' visa notices: The visa notices of the 20 U.S. embassies whose posts issued the most employment-based immigrant visas from March 2025 to February 2026, from each embassy's own Visas feed, read in a browser once a day: consular operations updates, interviews paused or resumed, appointments cancelled, and immigrant visa processing. Checklists, scam warnings, health alerts and visitor or student notices are left out, and a feed holds only an embassy's newest ten posts.
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