What is a visa ?

Updated Mar. 24, 2026Refreshed annually
The A-1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa issued for work. Nonimmigrant visas are admitted for people who intend to stay in the US temporarily. A-1 visas accounted for 0.09% of all issued visas in FY 2024.
In FY 2024,

9.47K

visas issued by the US were A-1 visas

The A-1 visa is designated for diplomats, consular officers, and other foreign government officials who are traveling to the United States to engage in official activities on behalf of their national government. This visa also extends to immediate family members of the principal visa holder, allowing them to accompany or join the official during their stay in the US.

The length of stay for an A-1 visa is typically determined by the duration of the official's assignment and is generally granted for the duration of their diplomatic mission, with extensions possible as long as the official continues to serve in their governmental capacity.

The State Department does not maintain a cap on A-1 visas.

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

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USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.