What is a visa?

Updated May. 29, 2026Refreshed annually
The B1/B2 visa is a nonimmigrant visa issued for tourism and business. Nonimmigrant visas are admitted for people who intend to stay in the US temporarily. B1/B2 visas accounted for 59.2% of all issued visas in FY 2024.
In FY 2024,

6.5M

visas issued by the US were B1/B2 visas
In FY 2024,

59.2%

of visas issued were B1/B2 visas
A visa is an official document the federal government issues to allow a foreign national to travel to a port of entry and request permission to enter for a specific purpose. While a visa does not guarantee entry, it indicates that the person has met the requirements for the type of visit they are requesting.
Visas don’t include permanent residency cards or applications for asylee or refugee status.

A B1/B2 visa covers the purposes of both the B1 and B2 visas. The B1 visa is for business-related activities including attending meetings, conferences, or negotiating contracts. The B2 visa is for tourism, vacation, visiting family and friends, or receiving medical treatment.

The length of stay for a B1/B2 visa is typically up to six months, as determined by Customs and Border Protection, and may be extended as long as the recipient complies with visa conditions.

What type of visa is a B1/B2 visa?

Visas are issued for one of five reasons: work, tourism/business, education, family, and safety. The B1/B2 visa is a tourism/business visa, which are for short-term visits such as travel, medical care, or business meetings.
Tourism/business visas make up 80.2% of all visas.

In 2024, 80.2% of all visas issued were for tourism and business.

Visas issued by type, FY 2024

How many B1/B2 visas are issued?

The State Department issued 6.50 million B1/B2 visas in 2024. That was up 15.1% from the 5.65 million issued in 2013, the earliest year of available data.

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Overall issued visas fell 68% during the pandemic, from 8.7 million in 2019 to 2.8 million in 2021. By 2023, totals had returned to above pre-pandemic levels.

The State Department does not maintain a cap on B1/B2 visas.

The US issued 6.5 million B1/B2 visas in 2024, up 15.1% from 2013.

Total B1/B2 visas issued, FY 2013–2024

Of all applications processed for B1/B2 visas in 2024, 72.2% were accepted. That acceptance rate was down from a peak of 83.2% in 2021.
Across the whole State Department, visas are accepted at a rate of 77%. Visas might be denied for a variety of reasons, including if the applicant:
  • Is deemed ineligible for the category
  • Has a communicable disease or any illness that could pose a threat to safety
  • Has been convicted of certain crimes
  • Has been previously removed from the US
  • Is a practicing polygamist
  • Submitted an incomplete application

B1/B2 visa applications were less likely to be accepted compared to all visas in 2024.

Visa acceptance rate, B1/B2 visas and all visas, FY 2013–2024

Who comes to the US on a B1/B2 visa?

For the 3rd straight year, more B1/B2 visa recipients came from Brazil than any other country in 2024 — the country’s 1.11 million recipients made up 17.2% of total visas issued. The next-highest populations came from India (898,754 or 13.8%) and China (645,977 or 9.9%).
The countries with the most B1/B2 visa recipients overall were:
  1. Brazil (1,114,612)
  2. India (898,754)
  3. China (645,977)
  4. Colombia (437,463)
  5. Argentina (272,762)

In 2024, the most B1/B2 visa recipients were from Brazil.

B1/B2 visas issued by recipient’s home country, FY 2024

The countries with the highest number of B1/B2 visa recipients compared to their overall population were:
  1. Saint Kitts and Nevis (62 per 1,000 people)
  2. Dominica (40)
  3. Trinidad and Tobago (38)
  4. Barbados (37)
  5. The Bahamas (36)
Overall, people from 196 different countries and territories received B1/B2 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.

Page sources

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.