U.S. Immigrant Visa Issuance Halves Under Trump Restrictions; South Korea Down 19%

Immigrant visa issuance in February half the pre-inauguration monthly average
Central Asia sees a 99% plunge

Legal immigrant visa issuances to the United States plunged early this year under the Trump Administration's immigration restrictions, with particularly steep declines among applicants from Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Citizens wait in a long line to obtain U.S. visas at the U.S. Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. 2025.09.08 Photo by Yoon Dongju

According to The New York Times (NYT) on October 18 (local time), the U.S. State Department issued 26,000 immigrant visas in February this year. That was about half the monthly average of 52,000 before President Trump took office.

By region, immigrant visa issuances to applicants from Central Asia fell 99%, the steepest decline. Issuances to applicants from Africa fell 89%, Eastern Europe 84%, the Middle East 81%, and Australia and Oceania 73%.

New immigrant visa issuances to South Koreans fell 19%, from a monthly average of 420 in 2023–2024 to 340 in February this year. Issuances to applicants from China fell 31%, Japan 25%, and India 16%.

By contrast, issuances to applicants from Canada and Mexico, which are not subject to visa restrictions, rose 142% and 17%, respectively. The Philippines, the United Kingdom, Türkiye and Spain were also among the countries that saw visa issuances increase.

The NYT reported that overlapping restrictions had made immigration to the United States virtually impossible for citizens of 91 countries, with immigration from predominantly Muslim countries falling particularly sharply.

Issuances of nonimmigrant visas for students, workers, tourists and business travelers also declined, in addition to immigrant visas. The NYT reported that student and worker visa issuances fell 30% from a year earlier, while tourist and business visa issuances dropped 25%.

India and China are not subject to a blanket ban on entry, but new rules and fees were cited as contributing to the decline in student and work visa issuances.

Meanwhile, in June last year, the Trump Administration imposed a full entry ban on citizens of 12 countries: Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. In December last year, it expanded the restrictions to cover a total of 39 countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.