Visa Status · unofficial · data from the U.S. Department of State
· printed

Visa type

O1

Extraordinary ability · For people with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, athletics or film and television.

O1 visas issued worldwide · February 2026

1,455

That is 341 fewer than in January 2026 (1,796) — -19.0%.

Quick view · February 2026

-19.0% vs January 2026 (1,796)-4.3% vs February 2025 (1,521)

All published months together: 146,235

Which countries changed? February 2026 compared with January 2026

Tap a country to see O1 for that country.

Most visas Biggest change

Country	February 2026	January 2026	Change
Great Britain and Northern Ireland	223	215	+3.7%+8
China - Mainland	141	176	-19.9%−35
India	125	139	-10.1%−14
Australia	81	72	+12.5%+9
Brazil	77	131	-41.2%−54
Germany	75	66	+13.6%+9
France	55	113	-51.3%−58
Mexico	48	89	-46.1%−41
Argentina	34	26	+30.8%+8
Spain	33	40	-17.5%−7
Netherlands	32	39	-17.9%−7
Italy	30	87	-65.5%−57
Korea, South	30	56	-46.4%−26
Japan	28	41	-31.7%−13
Israel	28	34	-17.6%−6
Colombia	28	27	+3.7%+1
New Zealand	21	19	+10.5%+2
Sweden	18	22	-18.2%−4
Russia	17	29	-41.4%−12
Nigeria	17	16	+6.3%+1
Belgium	15	15	+0.0%+0
Switzerland	15	8	+87.5%+7
Turkey	14	12	+16.7%+2
Philippines	12	11	+9.1%+1
Ireland	11	14	-21.4%−3
Poland	10	16	-37.5%−6
South Africa	10	13	-23.1%−3
Venezuela	10	8	+25.0%+2
Norway	10	5	+100.0%+5
Portugal	9	12	-25.0%−3
Chile	9	8	+12.5%+1
Taiwan	8	15	-46.7%−7
Vietnam	8	9	-11.1%−1
Denmark	8	8	+0.0%+0
Malaysia	8	6	+33.3%+2
Indonesia	7	14	-50.0%−7
Hong Kong S. A. R.	7	10	-30.0%−3
Singapore	7	4	+75.0%+3
Ukraine	6	13	-53.8%−7
Greece	6	10	-40.0%−4
Canada	6	1	+500.0%+5
Austria	5	8	-37.5%−3
Pakistan	5	6	-16.7%−1
Dominican Republic	5	3	+66.7%+2
Hungary	5	3	+66.7%+2
Serbia	3	6	-50.0%−3
Egypt	3	5	-40.0%−2
Lebanon	3	5	-40.0%−2
Belarus	3	4	-25.0%−1
Thailand	3	4	-25.0%−1
Czech Republic	3	3	+0.0%+0
Peru	3	3	+0.0%+0
Lithuania	3	2	+50.0%+1
Croatia	2	5	-60.0%−3
Romania	2	5	-60.0%−3
Ecuador	2	4	-50.0%−2
Finland	0	4	-100.0%−4
Jamaica	0	3	-100.0%−3

Which embassies and posts changed? February 2026 compared with January 2026

Same comparison, by the embassy or post that issued the visa.

Most visas Biggest change

Embassy / post	February 2026	January 2026	Change
London	235	240	-2.1%−5
Paris	59	117	-49.6%−58
Beijing	55	67	-17.9%−12
Sao Paulo	46	70	-34.3%−24
Chennai	45	41	+9.8%+4
Sydney	41	36	+13.9%+5
Madrid	40	40	+0.0%+0
Berlin	38	30	+26.7%

O1 worldwide: month by month, 2026 compared with 2025

Year compared with

202519,456
20263,251

Download CSV

Month by month

Month	2025	2026	Change
January	2,111	1,796	-14.9%
February	1,521	1,455	-4.3%
March	1,597	–	–
April	1,525	–	–
May	1,448	–	–
June	1,464	–	–
July	1,762	–	–
August	1,782	–	–
September	1,526	–	–
October	1,506	–	–
November	1,266	–	–
December	1,948	–	–

When is it busy? O1 visas worldwide

Busiest month: January (11.8% of a typical year). Quietest: April (6.1%). An even year would be 8.3% a month.

11.8%

8.2%

8.3%

6.1%

6.2%

6.7%

8.1%

9.5%

8.6%

8.5%

7.8%

10.3%

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Average of 8 full years (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025). Each bar is that month's share of the year's total. Years with missing months are left out. It shows when visas are issued, not when people apply.

O1 worldwide: all published months

By month By year By fiscal year

“partial” means fewer than 12 months have been published for that period.

Download CSV

View as table

Fiscal year	Issuances
FY2017 partial	9,984
FY2018	16,903
FY2019	17,569
FY2020	8,845
FY2021	7,302
FY2022	19,125
FY2023	19,044
FY2024	19,479
FY2025	20,013
FY2026 partial	7,971

	Dec 2025	Jan 2026	Feb 2026
Total issued	1,948	1,796	1,455
Total	1,948	1,796	1,455

O1

Which countries changed? February 2026 compared with January 2026

Which embassies and posts changed? February 2026 compared with January 2026

O1 worldwide: month by month, 2026 compared with 2025

When is it busy? O1 visas worldwide

O1 worldwide: all published months

Top 5 countries

Explore O1 by period

By month · latest 12 months

Compare months or years