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  4. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics
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  6. Table 25. Nonimmigrant Admissions by Class of Admission: Fiscal Years 2017 to 2019


OHSS | Office of Homeland Security Statistics

Table 25. Nonimmigrant Admissions by Class of Admission: Fiscal Years 2017 to 2019

The 2019 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics is a compendium of tables that provide data on foreign nationals who are granted lawful permanent residence (i.e., immigrants who receive a “green card”), admitted as temporary nonimmigrants, granted asylum or refugee status, or are naturalized. The Yearbook also presents data on immigration enforcement actions, including apprehensions and arrests, removals, and returns.

Table 25. Nonimmigrant Admissions by Class of Admission: Fiscal Years 2017 to 2019
Class of Admission 2017 2018 2019
Total all admissions1 181,100,000 186,200,000 186,200,000
Total I-94 admissions2 77,643,267 81,279,692 81,563,139
   Temporary workers and families 3,969,276 3,919,567 4,106,324
      Temporary workers and trainees 2,447,014 2,378,940 2,558,973
         CNMI-only transitional workers (CW1) 8,154 4,743 4,381
         Spouses and children of CW1 (CW2) 903 729 707
         Temporary workers in specialty occupations (H1B) 531,280 570,368 601,594
         Chile and Singapore Free Trade Agreement aliens (H1B1) 452 581 836
         Registered nurses participating in the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas (H1C) 97 66 21
         Agricultural workers (H2A)3 412,820 298,228 442,822
         Nonagricultural workers (H2B) 124,319 120,351 129,120
         Returning H2B workers (H2R)4 11 9 6
         Trainees (H3) 2,637 2,334 2,141
         Spouses and children of H1, H2, or H3 (H4) 219,716 230,219 225,468
         Workers with extraordinary ability or achievement (O1) 111,516 120,625 127,972
         Workers accompanying and assisting in performance of O1 workers (O2) 30,659 33,780 35,370
         Spouses and children of O1 and O2 (O3) 15,343 16,074 17,678
         Internationally recognized athletes or entertainers (P1) 103,097 105,856 101,878
         Artists or entertainers in reciprocal exchange programs (P2) 14,684 16,476 17,692
         Artists or entertainers in culturally unique programs (P3) 13,439 14,182 13,894
         Spouses and children of P1, P2, or P3 (P4) 3,917 3,890 4,071
         Workers in international cultural exchange programs (Q1) 3,406 3,443 3,414
         Workers in religious occupations (R1) 14,359 14,672 14,817
         Spouses and children of R1 (R2) 4,461 4,212 4,279
         North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) professional workers (TN) 741,899 731,496 725,929
         Spouses and children of TN (TD) 89,845 86,606 84,883
      Intracompany transferees 976,508 993,288 987,834
         Intracompany transferees (L1) 687,096 703,102 698,794
         Spouses and children of L1 (L2) 289,412 290,186 289,040
      Treaty traders and investors 496,936 503,199 515,672
         Treaty traders and their spouses and children (E1) 77,657 75,500 75,627
         Treaty investors and their spouses and children (E2) 374,201 378,374 387,182
         Treaty investors and their spouses and children (CNMI only) (E2C) - - -
         Australian Free Trade Agreement principals, spouses and children (E3) 45,078 49,325 52,863
      Representatives of foreign information media 48,818 44,140 43,845
         Representatives of foreign information media and spouses and children (I1) 48,818 44,140 43,845
   Students 1,940,171 1,957,852 1,907,176
         Academic students (F1) 1,845,739 1,862,828 1,817,724
         Spouses and children of F1 (F2) 74,461 75,344 70,288
         Vocational students (M1) 19,129 18,838 18,385
         Spouses and children of M1 (M2) 842 842 779
   Exchange visitors 594,185 611,373 620,479
         Exchange visitors (J1) 523,864 537,705 548,717
         Spouses and children of J1 (J2) 70,321 73,668 71,762
   Diplomats and other representatives 450,457 457,599 454,494
         Ambassadors, public ministers, career diplomatic or consular officers and their families (A1) 42,459 43,715 42,431
         Other foreign government officials or employees and their families (A2) 180,796 184,669 178,591
         Attendants, servants, or personal employees of A1 and A2 and their families (A3) 1,406 1,178 1,055
         Principals of recognized foreign governments (G1) 16,824 17,332 17,400
         Other representatives of recognized foreign governments (G2) 21,578 22,036 21,414
         Representatives of nonrecognized or nonmember foreign governments (G3) 1,048 1,079 1,099
         International organization officers or employees (G4) 130,056 132,853 136,296
         Attendants, servants, or personal employees of representatives (G5) 1,006 972 791
         North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials, spouses, and children (N1 to N7) 55,284 53,765 55,417
   Temporary visitors for pleasure 61,600,219 64,819,854 64,864,687
         Temporary visitors for pleasure (B2) 41,117,760 44,054,664 43,968,625
         Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure (WT) 19,161,211 19,591,879 19,745,020
         Guam Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure to Guam (GT) X X X
         Guam - Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Visa Waiver Program - temporary visitors for pleasure to Guam or Northern Mariana Islands (GMT) 1,321,248 1,173,311 1,151,042
   Temporary visitors for business 8,456,038 8,967,224 9,059,770
         Temporary visitors for business (B1) 5,301,451 5,725,099 5,853,592
         Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business (WB) 3,152,656 3,239,672 3,203,078
         Guam Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business to Guam (GB) X X X
         Guam - Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Visa Waiver Program - temporary visitors for business to Guam or Northern Mariana Islands (GMB) 1,931 2,453 3,100
   Transit aliens 498,272 453,723 462,914
         Aliens in continuous and immediate transit through the United States (C1) 483,076 441,276 449,524
         Aliens in transit to the United Nations (C2) 357 169 740
         Foreign government officials, their spouses, children, and attendants in transit (C3) 14,839 12,278 12,650
   Commuter students 35,297 18,917 8,787
         Canadian or Mexican national academic commuter students (F3) 35,297 18,917 8,787
         Canadian or Mexican national vocational commuter students (M3) - - -
   Alien fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens and children 40,878 29,077 39,554
         Fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens (K1) 35,546 25,072 34,581
         Children of K1 (K2) 5,332 4,005 4,973
   Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act 704 522 141
         Spouses of U.S. citizens, visa pending (K3) 98 47 25
         Children of U.S. citizens, visa pending (K4) 52 16 9
         Spouses of permanent residents, visa pending (V1) 200 224 35
         Children of permanent residents, visa pending (V2) 348 226 65
         Dependents of V1 or V2, visa pending (V3) 6 9 7
   Other 63 59 75
   Unknown 57,451 43,925 38,738

X Not applicable.
- Represents zero.
1 Estimated admission totals rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. Excludes sea and air crew admissions (D1 and D2 visas).
2 Beginning in 2010, the number of I-94 admissions greatly exceeds totals reported in previous years due to a more complete count of land admissions.
3 Beginning in 2006, annual increases in H2A admissions may be due to more complete recording of pedestrian admissions along the Southwest Border.
4 Issuances of H2R (returning H2B workers not subject to annual numerical limits) ceased at the end of 2007.
Notes: Admissions represent counts of events (i.e., arrivals) not unique individuals. Multiple entries of an individual on the same day are counted as one admission.
The majority of short-term admissions from Canada and Mexico are excluded.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security.