What is a visa ?

Updated Mar. 24, 2026Refreshed annually
The M-1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa issued for student purposes. Nonimmigrant visas are admitted for people who intend to stay in the US temporarily. M-1 visas accounted for 0.06% of all issued visas in FY 2024.
In FY 2024,

6.32K

visas issued by the US were M-1 visas

The M-1 visa is a nonimmigrant student visa for individuals pursuing vocational or nonacademic studies in the United States. This visa is intended for students enrolled in programs at schools certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), including technical and vocational programs. M-1 visa holders are not permitted to work during their studies, except for practical training related to their field of study, and must maintain a full course of study to remain in status.

The length of stay for an M-1 visa is typically valid for the duration of the student's program, with an additional 30 days to prepare for departure from the United States.

The State Department does not maintain a cap on M-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.