The immigrant visa waiting list
The State Department's yearly count of people with approved petitions waiting for an immigrant visa at the National Visa Center, by category.
Consular cases only, families included. It counts people whose visas will be processed at an embassy or consulate, with their spouses and children. Everyone adjusting status inside the US is left out, so for employment categories it understates demand, in State's own words “significantly”. Consulates also remove cases unlikely to move, so the list shrinks for reasons other than visas issued.
Totals
- Employment-based
- 260,660
- Nov 1, 2023, +55% in a year
- Family-sponsored
- 3,773,401
- Nov 1, 2023, -3.6% in a year
- Everyone on the list
- 4,034,061
- Nov 1, 2023, -1.2% in a year
Employment-based, by category
November 2016 to November 2023, one bar a year, all categories on one scale. People counted here are waiting abroad; the green card line counts the line as a whole.
| Category | Each November, oldest to newest | Newest | In a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | 20,582 | +133% | |
| EB-2 | 75,567 | +72% | |
| EB-3 skilled and professional | 78,207 | +87% | |
| EB-3 Other Workers | 44,470 | +66% | |
| EB-4 | 1,951 | +50% | |
| EB-5 | 39,883 | -12% |
Employment-based, by country, Nov 1, 2023
- China (mainland born) 65,338
- India 48,536
- Philippines 36,141
- Mexico 10,448
- Korea, South 9,502
- All Others 90,695
Family-sponsored, by category
| Category | Each November, oldest to newest | Newest | In a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| F1, adult children of citizens | 261,384 | -7.5% | |
| F2A, spouses and children of permanent residents | 337,958 | -12% | |
| F2B, adult children of permanent residents | 385,664 | -6.3% | |
| F3, married children of citizens | 588,883 | -4.6% | |
| F4, brothers and sisters of adult citizens | 2,199,512 | -0.9% |
How it's read, and what it can't tell you
Each report prints two Novembers. Every report is checked against itself (each sub-total and total adds up) and against the report before it (its earlier column must match that report's own figures). Every year matched exactly.
- How long anyone waits. The list is a count, not a queue position, and the adjusting half is missing.
- Anything after Nov 1, 2023. That's the newest report this site holds.
- How many people were culled rather than issued visas between two Novembers.
nvc-waiting-list: State Dept annual NVC waiting list report, via Internet Archive or a saved page · data through Nov 1, 2023 · yearly State's yearly count of applicants waiting for an immigrant visa at the National Visa Center, each November 1 since 2016, by category, spouses and children included; consular cases only, not adjustments at USCIS.
The rules behind these numbers
Other calculators
- Green card timeline
- PERM processing time
- Prevailing wage queue
- I-140 queue
- I-485 queue position
- Green card line
- EB-2 vs EB-3
- Which green card fits
- Salary explorer
- Compare my offer
- I-140 trends
- Priority dates
- PERM deadlines
- RFI deadline
- Wage determination validity
- H-1B six-year limit
- Priority date retention
- Green card fees
- Wage levels