What is a visa ?

Updated Mar. 24, 2026Refreshed annually
The F-2 visa is a nonimmigrant visa issued for family. Immigrant visas are for people who intend to stay in the US permanently. F-2 visas accounted for 0.22% of all issued visas in FY 2024.
In FY 2024,

24.1K

visas issued by the US were F-2 visas
In FY 2024,

0.22%

of visas issued were F-2 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.

The F-2 visa is available to the spouse and unmarried children under age 21 of someone who holds an F-1 visa, which is used for academic studies or language training programs in the United States. It allows family members to accompany or join the F-1 visa holder while they study in the United States. F-2 visa holders are not permitted to work or engage in full-time study, but they may attend school or participate in recreational or vocational courses.

The length of stay for an F-2 visa is tied to the F-1 visa holder’s authorized stay and typically lasts for the same period. Extensions are possible as long as the F-1 student maintains valid status and continues their academic program.

What type of visa is a F-2 visa?

Visas are issued for one of five reasons: work, tourism/business, education, family, and safety. The F-2 visa is a family visa, which gives eligible relatives of US citizens or lawful permanent residents the opportunity to join or stay with their family in the United States.
Family visas make up 3.2% of all visas.

In 2024, 3.2% of all visas issued were for family.

Visas issued by type, 2024

How many F-2 visas are issued?

The State Department issued 24,055 F-2 visas in 2024. That was down 17.4% from the 29,139 issued in 2013, the earliest year of available data.
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 F-2 visas.

The US issued 24,100 F-2 visas in 2024, down 17.4% from 2013.

Total F-2 visas issued, 2013–2024

Of all applications processed for F-2 visas in 2024, 51.2% were accepted. That acceptance rate was down from a peak of 75.2% in 2015.

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

F-2 visa applications were less likely to be accepted compared to all visas in 2024.

Visa acceptance rate, F-2 visas and all visas, 2013–2024

Who comes to the US on a F-2 visa?

For the 3rd straight year, more F-2 visa recipients came from India than any other country in 2024 — the country’s 4,100 recipients made up 16.9% of total visas issued. The next-highest populations came from Bangladesh (2,201 or 9.1%) and China (1,783 or 7.4%).

The countries with the most F-2 visa recipients overall were:

  1. India (4,062)
  2. Bangladesh (2,201)
  3. China (1,783)
  4. Saudi Arabia (1,639)
  5. South Korea (1,543)

In 2024, the most F-2 visa recipients were from India.

F-2 visas issued by recipient’s home country, 2024

The countries with the highest number of F-2 visa recipients compared to their overall population were:

  1. Tonga (0.09 per 1,000 people)
  2. Saint Kitts and Nevis (0.07)
  3. Saudi Arabia (0.04)
  4. Mongolia (0.04)
  5. The Bahamas (0.04)
Overall, people from 161 different countries and territories received F-2 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.