The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released an Annual Flow Report regarding nonimmigrant admissions to the U.S. in 2012. Nonimmigrants are foreign nationals granted temporary admission to the U.S. Such nonimmigrant visas authorize temporary visits to the U.S., academic or vocational studies, temporary employment, or visas for those acting as representatives of foreign governments of international organizations. DHS collects information regarding such temporary visas through I-94 arrival records, which document all legal non-immigrant entries into the U.S. Such data recorded includes arrival and departure dates, port of entry, class of admission, country of citizenship, state of destination, age, and sex. Non-immigrants are aliens whose classes of admission are specified in Section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Examples of such nonimmigrant visas include those for foreign governmental officials, temporary visas for business and pleasure, aliens in transit, treaty traders and investors, academic and vocation students, temporary workers, exchange visitors, athletes and entertainers, victims of certain crimes, and family members  of U.S. citizens, persons granted lawful permanent residence, or special immigrants. The maximum duration of stay depends on the class of admission.

In this report, nonimmigrant admissions refer to the number of entries into the U.S., rather than the number of individuals, and more than one entry by the same individual on the same day was counted as one admission. In 2012, applicants for nonimmigrant admission were required to complete a paper Form I-94/I-94W or an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) registration to enter the country. Mexican nationals with Border Crossing Cards and tourists and business travelers from Canada were generally exempt from filing out these forms. This year, the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) continued to be used to allow nations from certain countries to travel to the U.S. as tourists or business travelers without a visa for a period of 90 days or less, provided they have not violated any restrictions of the program.  Last year, 36 countries participated in the Visa Waiver Program. 

According to the report, there were 53,887,286 I-94 nonimmigrant admissions in 2012. This number represented a slight increase from 2011, when 53,082,286 non-immigrants were admitted, and 2010, when 46,471,516 non-immigrants were admitted.78% of such admissions were made by visitors using the B-2 and WT (Visa Waiver Program) temporary visas for pleasure travel. 11% of non-immigrant admissions were made by visitors holding B-1 visas, visas for temporary visitors for business, and temporary visitors for business WB (Visa Waiver Program) visas. These percentages remained fairly stable from 2011, when temporary pleasure travel and business visas made up 76.4% and 10.7% of non-immigrant admissions respectively, and 2010, when pleasure travel and temporary business visas made up 75.6% and 11.2% of non-immigration admissions respectively. About 5.7% of admissions were made by temporary workers and their families, including TN NAFTA professional workers (1.4%), H-1B workers in specialty occupations (0.9%), and L-1 intra-company transferees (0.9%). These numbers were slightly down from 2011, when temporary workers constituted 6.4% of admissions, and 2010, when temporary workers constituted 6.1% of admissions. Students made up 3.1% of admissions in 2012.

The leading countries of citizenship for nonimmigrant admissions to the U.S. were Mexico (31%), the U.K. (8.3%), Japan (7.7%), Germany (4.3%), France (3.6%), Brazil (3.3%), China (3.3%), South Korea (2.8%), Canada (2.7%), and Australia (2.5%). These numbers remained fairly stable from 2011 and 2010, with a slight increase in non-immigrants coming from Japan, Germany, France, Brazil, China, and Australia. The ports of entry with the highest amounts of admissions included New York (11%), Miami (9.5%), Los Angeles (7.2%), Newark (3.9%), San Ysidro (3.9%), Honolulu (3.5%), San Francisco (3.5%), Chicago (3%), Houston (2.6%), and Atlanta (2.6%).  Honolulu, Dallas, Agana (Guam), and Miami experienced increases in their admissions from previous years. Due to construction at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, admissions at this location decreased by 25% from 2011 to 2012. The most frequent states of destination for I-94 nonimmigrants were California (19%), Florida (13%), Texas (13%), and New York (12%). These four states made up the destinations of 57% of all foreign nationals admitted.

In addition, 11.3% of nonimmigrants admitted were under 18 years old, 9.2% were between the ages of 18-24, 21.2% were between the ages of 25-34, 21.7% were between the ages of 35-44, 17.8% were between the ages of 45-54, 11.5% were between the ages of 55-64, and 7.2% were 65 years old or older. 51.6% of those admitted were male and 47.5% were female.

DHS notes that this report alone may not accurately reflect changes in travel patterns or the demand for nonimmigrant visas from previous years, because changes in the ways in which admissions are counted and the construction at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the highest volume land port of entry in the U.S., may have affected the data. To see the full report, please click here.

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Founded in 1996, Zhang & Associates, P.C. offers legal services to clients nationwide in all aspects of U.S immigration law. We have successfully handled thousands of immigration cases.

At Zhang & Associates, P.C., our attorneys and supporting professionals are committed to providing high-quality immigration and non-immigration visa services. We specialize in NIW, EB-1, PERM, and I-485 cases. In the past seventeen years, we have successfully helped thousands of clients get green cards. If you plan to apply for a green card, please send your CV to Attorney Jerry Zhang (info@hooyou.com) for a free evaluation.

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(08/30/2013)