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Ranked: The 25 Countries Receiving the Most U.S. Immigration Visas

Published

3 months ago

December 13, 2022

Avery Koop

Article/Editing:

Bhabna Banerjee

U.S. immigration visas

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The Top 25 Countries Receiving the Most U.S. Immigration Visas

Although many Americans feel that their country is on the wrong track , this does not stop foreigners from wanting to move to the United States. For many around the globe, the promise of the American dream is still worth the permanent move and hundreds of thousands of people every year apply for their U.S. immigration visas.

The ranking uses annual data from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs to visualize the countries whose citizens are receiving the highest number of U.S. immigrant visas.

U.S. Immigration Processes

The process of U.S. immigration is confusing at best, but it always starts with a visa. A visa, in the context of immigration, is essentially a permit to enter the country, issued to those looking to work and live in the United States. There are two visa categories : immigrant and non-immigrant.

Non-immigrant visas

These visas are typically for temporary workers, but also serve other purposes, like basic travel for tourists from certain countries. Even when obtained for work purposes however, non-immigrant visas expire and do not lead to green cards or citizenship.

Some examples of non-immigrant visas categories include: members of the press, diplomatic representatives, foreign military personnel stationed in the U.S., athletes, and a plethora of other unique situations. The popular, and nearly unattainable, H-1B visas are actually non-immigrant visas.

Immigrant visas

Immigrant visas, on the other hand, can either be employment-based or family-based. The intention behind them is that they will eventually lead to permanent status in the U.S., either through green cards or citizenship. A common example of an immigration visa is the K-1 visa or the “fiancé visa” for individuals marrying American citizens.

Who’s Getting U.S. Immigrant Visas?

Last year, more than 285,000 U.S. immigrant visas were issued. Here’s a look how that is distributed across every country worldwide :

Rank	Country	Immigrant Visas Issued (2021)
#1	🇲🇽 Mexico	40,597
#2	🇨🇳 China	18,501
#3	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	17,941
#4	🇵🇭 Philippines	15,862
#5	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	10,784
#6	🇻🇳 Vietnam	10,458
#7	🇮🇳 India	9,275
#8	🇸🇻 El Salvador	7,813
#9	🇵🇰 Pakistan	7,213
#10	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	5,503
#11	🇳🇵 Nepal	5,342
#12	🇪🇨 Ecuador	5,061
#13	🇳🇬 Nigeria	4,990
#14	🇨🇴 Colombia	4,785
#15	🇾🇪 Yemen	4,770
#16	🇯🇲 Jamaica	4,375
#17	🇭🇹 Haiti	3,799
#18	🇲🇦 Morocco	3,585
#19	🇨🇺 Cuba	3,232
#20	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	3,216
#21	🇭🇳 Honduras	3,180
#22	🇨🇲 Cameroon	3,048
#23	🇺🇦 Ukraine	3,019
#24	🇰🇷 South Korea	2,954
#25	🇮🇷 Iran	2,802
#26	🇯🇴 Jordan	2,785
#27	🇬🇹 Guatemala	2,717
#28	🇬🇾 Guyana	2,650
#29	🇧🇷 Brazil	2,423
#30	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	2,402
#31	🇪🇬 Egypt	2,230
#32	🇬🇭 Ghana	2,216
#33	🇻🇪 Venezuela	2,031
#34	🇩🇿 Algeria	1,922
#35	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1,897
#36	🇦🇱 Albania	1,794
#37	🇹🇼 Taiwan	1,775
#38	🇵🇪 Peru	1,772
#39	🇰🇪 Kenya	1,612
#40	🇰🇭 Cambodia	1,586
#41	🇱🇧 Lebanon	1,543
#42	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	1,481
#43	🇨🇦 Canada	1,464
#44	🇯🇵 Japan	1,401
#45	🇹🇷 Turkey	1,361
#46	🇹🇭 Thailand	1,221
#47	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	1,203
#48	🇷🇺 Russia	1,154
#49	🇩🇪 Germany	1,086
#50	🇦🇲 Armenia	992
#51	🇹🇬 Togo	989
#52	🇵🇱 Poland	942
#53	🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire	924
#54	🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR	838
#55	🇱🇷 Liberia	803
#56	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	799
#57	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	793
#58	🇧🇾 Belarus	787
#59	🇸🇩 Sudan	783
#60	🇸🇾 Syria	757
#61	🇸🇴 Somalia	724
#62	🇮🇩 Indonesia	714
#63	🇷🇴 Romania	706
#64	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	701
#65	🇬🇪 Georgia	652
#66	🇧🇴 Bolivia	642
#67	🇫🇷 France	622
#67	🇮🇹 Italy	622
#69	🇲🇩 Moldova	611
#70	🇦🇷 Argentina	608
#71	🇿🇦 South Africa	599
#72	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	598
#73	🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	597
#74	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	592
#75	🇲🇲 Myanmar	587
#76	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	584
#77	🇮🇶 Iraq	579
#78	🇸🇳 Senegal	566
#79	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	543
#80	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	537
#81	🇫🇯 Fiji	522
#82	🇽🇰 Kosovo	520
#83	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	513
#84	🇦🇺 Australia	505
#85	🇬🇳 Guinea	500
#86	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	493
#87	🇬🇲 The Gambia	484
#88	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	472
#89	🇮🇱 Israel	471
#90	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	444
#91	🇨🇱 Chile	416
#92	🇰🇼 Kuwait	412
#93	🇪🇸 Spain	410
#94	🇪🇷 Eritrea	371
#95	🇵🇦 Panama	363
#96	🇲🇳 Mongolia	355
#97	🇧🇯 Benin	343
#98	🇲🇾 Malaysia	330
#99	🇷🇸 Serbia	328
#100	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	308
#101	🇧🇸 The Bahamas	303
#102	🇹🇿 Tanzania	301
#103	🇹🇳 Tunisia	298
#104	🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	292
#105	🇷🇼 Rwanda	291
#106	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	284
#107	🇺🇬 Uganda	281
#108	🇩🇲 Dominica	279
#109	🇧🇿 Belize	278
#110	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	259
#111	🇱🇾 Libya	233
#112	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	231
#112	🇬🇩 Grenada	231
#114	🇮🇪 Ireland	213
#115	🇳🇿 New Zealand	205
#116	🇭🇺 Hungary	203
#117	🇲🇱 Mali	196
#118	🇶🇦 Qatar	190
#119	🇳🇱 Netherlands	182
#120	🇱🇹 Lithuania	177
#121	🇧🇧 Barbados	170
#122	🇬🇷 Greece	168
#123	🇿🇲 Zambia	152
#124	🇸🇬 Singapore	148
#124	🇲🇪 Montenegro	148
#126	🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda	146
#127	🇺🇾 Uruguay	144
#128	🇨🇭 Switzerland	142
#129	🇱🇻 Latvia	131
#130	🇸🇪 Sweden	123
#131	🇵🇹 Portugal	120
#132	🇧🇪 Belgium	114
#133	🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	113
#134	🇳🇪 Niger	112
#135	🇵🇾 Paraguay	111
#136	🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo	108
#137	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	105
#138	🇦🇹 Austria	104
#139	🇧🇮 Burundi	98
#140	🇭🇷 Croatia	96
#141	🇫🇮 Finland	89
#142	🇩🇯 Djibouti	80
#142	🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis	80
#144	🇸🇰 Slovakia	77
#145	🇧🇭 Bahrain	66
#146	🇲🇼 Malawi	65
#147	🇲🇷 Mauritania	62
#148	🇹🇩 Chad	57
#149	🇦🇴 Angola	52
#150	🇬🇦 Gabon	49
#151	🇪🇪 Estonia	48
#152	🇸🇷 Suriname	45
#153	🇸🇸 South Sudan	41
#153	🇹🇴 Tonga	41
#155	🇴🇲 Oman	38
#156	🇲🇬 Madagascar	36
#156	🇩🇰 Denmark	36
#156	🇮🇸 Iceland	36
#159	🇧🇹 Bhutan	35
#159	🇧🇲 Bermuda	35
#161	🇸🇮 Slovenia	32
#162	🇨🇾 Cyprus	28
#163	🇳🇴 Norway	23
#164	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	22
#165	🇧🇼 Botswana	21
#165	🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos Islands	21
#167	🇲🇴 Macau SAR	20
#168	🇱🇦 Laos	11
#168	🇲🇫 Saint Martin	11
#168	🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands	11
#171	🇲🇿 Mozambique	10
#171	🇳🇦 Namibia	10
#171	🇦🇮 Anguilla	10
#174	🇲🇺 Mauritius	9
#174	🇸🇽 Sint Maarten	9
#174	🇼🇸 Samoa	9
#177	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	8
#177	🇰🇵 North Korea	8
#177	🇨🇼 Curaçao	8
#180	🇰🇾 Cayman Islands	7
#181	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	6
#182	🇲🇹 Malta	5
#182	🇦🇼 Aruba	5
#184	🇱🇸 Lesotho	4
#184	🇧🇳 Brunei	4
#186	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	3
#186	🇲🇸 Montserrat	3
#188	🇸🇿 Eswatini	2
#188	🇲🇻 Maldives	2
#188	🇵🇫 French Polynesia	2
#188	🇬🇮 Gibraltar	2
#188	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	2
#188	🇫🇲 Federated Sates of Micronesia	2
#194	🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	1
#194	🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	1
#194	🇳🇨 New Caledonia	1
#194	🇲🇨 Monaco	1
#194	🇨🇽 Christmas Island	1
#194	🇲🇭 Marshall Islands	1
#194	🇵🇼 Palau	1
#194	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	1
#194	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	1
#203	🇰🇲 Comoros	0
#203	🇪🇭 Western Sahara	0
#203	🇸🇨 Seychelles	0
#203	🇦🇩 Andorra	0
#203	🇫🇴 Faroe Islands	0
#203	🇬🇱 Greenland	0
#203	🇹🇫 French Southern and Antarctic Lands	0
#203	🇧🇱 St. Barthelemy	0
#203	🇵🇲 St. Pierre and Miquelon	0
#203	🇼🇫 Wallis and Futuna	0
#203	🇮🇴 British Indian Ocean Territory	0
#203	🇫🇰 Falkland Islands	0
#203	🇵🇳 Pitcairn	0
#203	🇸🇭 St. Helena	0
#203	🇬🇸 South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands	0
#203	🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	0
#203	Northern Ireland (DV Only)	0
#203	🇸🇯 Svalbard	0
#203	🇸🇲 San Marino	0
#203	🇻🇦 Vatican City	0
#203	🇨🇨 Cocos (Keeling) Islands	0
#203	🇳🇫 Norfolk Island	0
#203	🇰🇮 Kiribati	0
#203	🇳🇷 Nauru	0
#203	🇨🇰 Cook Islands	0
#203	🇳🇺 Niue	0
#203	🇹🇰 Tokelau	0
#203	🇹🇻 Tuvalu	0
Total		285,069

Mexican citizens received the highest number of visas to immigrate permanently to the U.S. at nearly 40,600 . America’s other neighbor, Canada , ranked 43rd, only receiving 1,464 visas. China and India also rank high on the list, ranking at #2 and #7 respectively.

Interestingly, only one European country, Ukraine , made the top 25. In 2021, prior to the Russian invasion, Ukrainians obtained 3,019 visas. A number of the top visa recipient nations are marked by violence and political unrest, like Afghanistan (#5) and Iran (#25).

Looking beyond the top 25, one surprising find is that eight North Korean citizens received immigration visas last year. Additionally, a number of countries only received a handful of U.S. immigrant visas including Luxembourg’s two, and Timor-Leste’s one.

Regionally, the bulk of the highest ranking countries are located in Asia. Here’s a breakdown:

Rank	Region	Immigrant Visas Issued (2021)
#1	Asia	111,419
#2	North America	91,919
#3	Africa	35,776
#4	Europe	23,972
#5	South America	20,688
#6	Oceania	1,295

Finally, here’s the geographical distribution of persons receiving U.S. immigrant visas.

Map infographic showing which countries receive the most U.S. immigration visas

The State of U.S. Immigration

Around 15% of the U.S. population is made up of immigrants, and the country is home to the highest number of total immigrants in the world, at 50.6 million .

In terms of how many visas are issued annually, there is a federal ceiling of 700,000 and certain countries have their own specific caps on how many their citizens can receive, as mandated by the United States. Although the numbers change drastically year by year, they have not come close to the limit in the last decade.

Here’s a look at the total U.S. immigrant visa issuances globally. Notably, they diminished by almost half during the pandemic:

Year	Immigrant Visas Issued Worldwide	% Change Year-over-Year
2012	482,300	-
2013	473,115	-1.9%
2014	467,370	-1.2%
2015	531,463	+13.7%
2016	617,752	+16.2%
2017	559,536	-9.4%
2018	533,557	-4.6%
2019	462,422	-13.3%
2020	240,526	-48.0%
2021	285,069	+18.5%

Overall, whether for economic purposes, reunification of families, or in fleeing from danger, people are continuing to come to the United States.

In the period between 2016 and 2060, it’s expected that the share of the U.S. population that is American-born is going to grow by 20%. Meanwhile, the share of the population that is foreign-born is expected to jump by 58% .

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Technology

Timeline: The Shocking Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

Silicon Valley Bank was shuttered by regulators becoming the largest bank to fail since the height of the Financial Crisis. What happened?

Published

15 hours ago

March 12, 2023

Dorothy Neufeld

Timeline: The Shocking Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

Just days ago, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was still viewed as a highly-respected player in the tech space, counting thousands of U.S. venture capital-backed startups as its customers.

But fast forward to the end of last week, and SVB was shuttered by regulators after a panic-induced bank run.

So, how exactly did this happen? We dig in below.

Road to a Bank Run

SVB and its customers generally thrived during the low interest rate era, but as rates rose, SVB found itself more exposed to risk than a typical bank. Even so, at the end of 2022, the bank’s balance sheet showed no cause for alarm.

Summary of the SVB balance sheet at the end of 2022

As well, the bank was viewed positively in a number of places. Most Wall Street analyst ratings were overwhelmingly positive on the bank’s stock, and Forbes had just added the bank to its Financial All-Stars list .

Outward signs of trouble emerged on Wednesday, March 8th, when SVB surprised investors with news that the bank needed to raise more than $2 billion to shore up its balance sheet.

The reaction from prominent venture capitalists was not positive, with Coatue Management, Union Square Ventures, and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund moving to limit exposure to the 40-year-old bank. The influence of these firms is believed to have added fuel to the fire, and a bank run ensued.

Also influencing decision making was the fact that SVB had the highest percentage of uninsured domestic deposits of all big banks. These totaled nearly $152 billion, or about 97% of all deposits.

ℹ️ The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures up to $250,000 per account, per bank, for depositors.

By the end of the day, customers had tried to withdraw $42 billion in deposits.

What Triggered the SVB Collapse?

While the collapse of SVB took place over the course of 44 hours, its roots trace back to the early pandemic years.

In 2021, U.S. venture capital-backed companies raised a record $330 billion —double the amount seen in 2020. At the time, interest rates were at rock-bottom levels to help buoy the economy.

Matt Levine sums up the situation well: “When interest rates are low everywhere, a dollar in 20 years is about as good as a dollar today, so a startup whose business model is “we will lose money for a decade building artificial intelligence, and then rake in lots of money in the far future” sounds pretty good. When interest rates are higher, a dollar today is better than a dollar tomorrow, so investors want cash flows. When interest rates were low for a long time, and suddenly become high, all the money that was rushing to your customers is suddenly cut off.”

Year	U.S. Venture Capital Activity	Annual % Change
2021	$330B	98%
2020	$167B	15%
2019	$145B	1%
2018	$144B	64%
2017	$88B	6%
2016	$83B	-3%

Source: Pitchbook

Why is this important? During this time, SVB received billions of dollars from these venture-backed clients. In one year alone, their deposits increased 100%. They took these funds and invested them in longer-term bonds. As a result, this created a dangerous trap as the company expected rates would remain low.

During this time, SVB invested in bonds at the top of the market. As interest rates rose higher and bond prices declined, SVB started taking major losses on their long-term bond holdings.

Losses Fueling a Liquidity Crunch

When SVB reported its fourth quarter results in early 2023, Moody’s Investor Service, a credit rating agency took notice . In early March, it said that SVB was at high risk for a downgrade due to its significant unrealized losses.

In response, SVB looked to sell $2 billion of its investments at a loss to help boost liquidity for its struggling balance sheet. Soon, more hedge funds and venture investors realized SVB could be on thin ice. Depositors withdrew funds in droves, spurring a liquidity squeeze and prompting California regulators and the FDIC to step in and shut down the bank.

What Happens Now?

While much of SVB’s activity was focused on the tech sector, the bank’s shocking collapse has rattled a financial sector that is already on edge.

The four biggest U.S. banks lost a combined $52 billion the day before the SVB collapse. On Friday, other banking stocks saw double-digit drops, including Signature Bank (-23%), First Republic (-15%), and Silvergate Capital (-11%).

Name	Stock Price Change, March 10 2023	Unrealized Losses / Tangible Equity
SVB Financial	-60%*	-99%
First Republic Bank	-15%	-29%
Zions Bancorp	-2%	-47%
Comerica	-5%	-47%
U.S. Bancorp	-4%	-55%
Fifth Third Bancorp	-4%	-38%
Bank of America	-1%	-54%
Wells Fargo	1%	-33%
JPMorgan	-1%	-21%

Source: Morningstar Direct. *Represents March 9 data, trading halted on March 10.

When the dust settles, it’s hard to predict the ripple effects that will emerge from this dramatic event. For investors, the Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen announced confidence in the banking system remaining resilient, noting that regulators have the proper tools in response to the issue.

But others have seen trouble brewing as far back as 2020 (or earlier) when commercial banking assets were skyrocketing and banks were buying bonds when rates were low.

The whole sector is in crisis, and the banks and investors that support these assets are going to have to figure out what to do. -Christopher Whalen, The Institutional Risk Analyst