How many people go to the U.S. from Japan?
Why are they going to the U.S.? How many people in Japan have long-term plans that require a U.S. “immigrant” visa? Are “nonimmigrant” visas, for temporary work or schooling, popular?
You can review the immigrant visa statistics, and nonimmigrant visa statistics, on the webpages maintained by the U.S. Department of State.
Immigrant Visas
According to the website tables, the number of U.S. immigrant visas issued in Tokyo increased about 13% from 1,466 in 2014 to 1,671 in 2015. But when we compare the 2005 amount of 3,514 to the 2015 amount of 1,671, we see a decrease of about 52%.
The number of immediate relative visas issued in Japan grew about 49% from 875 in 2014 to 1,304 in 2015. But when we compare the 2005 amount of 2,281 to the 2015 amount of 1,304, we see a decrease of about 42%.
Nonimmigrant Visas
By looking at the tables of U.S. nonimmigrant visas issued by classification and nationality, we can get a sense of the nonimmigrant activity related to Japan.
2005 2014 2015 B (Tourist / Business Visitor) 4,362 3,617 3,668 E (Treaty Trader / Investor) 14,422 13,254 13,937 F (Academic Student) 25,567 19,014 17,929 H (Specialty Worker) 6,213 2,490 2,125 J (Exchange Visitor) 10,343 9,748 9,911 L (Intracompany Transferee) 11,998 10,916 10,343 M (Vocational Student) 794 606 598 O (Visitor with Extraordinary Ability) 478 696 681 P (Performing Athlete / Artist) 892 925 824
Gary O. Haase is a U.S. immigration attorney admitted in California and Japan (licensed foreign attorney). This article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact a qualified legal professional to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue. The opinions expressed are those of the individual author and do not reflect the views or opinions of any nonprofit organization or government agency.