Updated
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. Everyone adjusting status inside the US is left out, so for employment categories it understates demand (“significantly”, in State's words). 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, and 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 with no 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 through Nov 1, 2023. How these figures are counted. Spotted an error? Tell us; every fix is dated in the corrections log.
The sources in full
NVC waiting list: State Dept annual NVC waiting list report, via Internet Archive or a saved page · data through Nov 1, 2023 · yearly
What this data includes
NVC waiting list: State's yearly count, each November 1 since 2016, of applicants waiting for an immigrant visa at the National Visa Center. It's by category, with spouses and children included. It covers consular cases only, so adjustments at USCIS aren't in it.
Cite this page
The rules behind these numbers
Waiting on a PERM case?
- When it'll likely be decided
- An email when DOL moves it
Don't have the number?