Approvals and refusals worldwide

I · Foreign media representative

For journalists and other representatives of foreign media on assignment. How many applications were approved and refused, every fiscal year with data.

Source: U.S. Department of State, NIV workload by visa category · Unofficial

Visa category

I visas · FY2018

83% approved

11,874 approved (issued) · 2,356 refused · 14,230 applications, worldwide.

Approved share by year

Choose a year

86%88%86%85%83%90%93%90%88%89%

1420152016201720182019202120222023202420

Every year

Fiscal year	Approved	Refused	Applications	Approved %
FY2024	12,924	1,650	14,574	89%
FY2023	10,796	1,449	12,245	88%
FY2022	9,917	1,129	11,046	90%
FY2021	4,550	340	4,890	93%
FY2019	11,312	1,253	12,565	90%
FY2018	11,874	2,356	14,230	83%
FY2017	14,126	2,473	16,599	85%
FY2016	14,536	2,455	16,991	86%
FY2015	14,447	2,016	16,463	88%
FY2014	13,674	2,147	15,821	86%

A fiscal year runs from October to September. Refused counts the applications still refused at the end of the year.

The State Department publishes refusal rates by nationality for visitor (B) visas only. For I you can see the worldwide numbers above. See B visas by nationality →

In plain words

Refusal rate: Out of 100 people who applied, how many were told no. A 20% refusal rate means about 20 in 100 were refused.
Adjusted: The State Department leaves out people who were refused for paperwork reasons and later got the visa, so the number is fairer.
Approved: The visa was issued. We show it as what is left after the refusals.
Applications (workload): Everyone the embassies decided on in the year: visas issued plus visas refused.
Fiscal year (FY): The U.S. government year, October to September. FY2025 is October 2024 to September 2025.

I in short

How many I visa applications are approved?

Worldwide in FY2018, 11,874 of 14,230 I visa applications were approved (issued), about 83%, and 2,356 were refused. This is a group figure, not a prediction for any one person.

Visa Status is an unofficial site and does not give immigration advice. These numbers describe all applications worldwide in one fiscal year. They do not predict what will happen to any one applicant.