Family immigration statistics measure several related but different parts of the U.S. immigration system. Consular visa issuances count immigrant visas issued at foreign service posts, while lawful permanent resident statistics count people who obtained permanent resident status. The figures below keep those measures separate and identify the fiscal year and geography covered.
Contents
- Consular family visa trends
- Immediate-relative visas by year
- FY2024 regional totals
- FY2024 immediate-relative categories
- Immediate relatives gaining permanent residence
- Spouses and children gaining permanent residence
- Family-sponsored preference admissions
Consular family visa trends
The State Department’s Table I: Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visas Issued at Foreign Service Posts, Fiscal Years 2020-2024 reports two major family-related immigrant visa groupings: immediate relatives and family-sponsored preferences. These are visas issued at foreign service posts, not a count of every person who obtained lawful permanent resident status during the same year.
Immediate-relative immigrant visa issuances rose from 108,292 in FY2020 to 170,604 in FY2021, 212,185 in FY2022, 245,696 in FY2023, and 265,467 in FY2024. The FY2024 total was the highest in this five-year series.
Family-sponsored preference immigrant visa issuances were 90,435 in FY2020 and 63,858 in FY2021. They increased to 156,800 in FY2022, 194,419 in FY2023, and 205,762 in FY2024. The FY2024 figure was therefore higher than each of the prior four years in this series.
| Fiscal year | Immediate-relative visas | Family-sponsored preference visas |
|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | 108,292 | 90,435 |
| FY2021 | 170,604 | 63,858 |
| FY2022 | 212,185 | 156,800 |
| FY2023 | 245,696 | 194,419 |
| FY2024 | 265,467 | 205,762 |
These figures describe visa issuances at overseas posts. They should not be read as a direct total of family-based green cards, because permanent resident status can be obtained through processes measured separately from overseas visa issuance.
That distinction is especially important when a fiscal year contains a sharp change in one measure but not another. A consular issuance records the completion of an immigrant visa process at a foreign service post. A lawful permanent resident count records the people who obtained permanent resident status during the reporting year. The two series can describe related family immigration activity without representing the same cases, locations, or administrative event. Readers comparing them should retain the source agency, reporting table, fiscal year, and unit of measurement alongside every number.
Immediate-relative visas by year
The State Department’s Table XII: Immediate Relative Visas Issued at Foreign Service Posts (by Applicant’s Area of Birth), Fiscal Years 2015-2024 gives a longer series. It reports immediate-relative immigrant visa issuances by applicants’ area of birth, with a grand total for each fiscal year.
The grand totals were 243,432 in FY2015, 315,352 in FY2016, 254,430 in FY2017, 236,526 in FY2018, and 186,584 in FY2019. The total then reached 108,292 in FY2020, followed by 170,604 in FY2021, 212,185 in FY2022, 245,696 in FY2023, and 265,467 in FY2024.
The series shows its largest listed total in FY2016 and its smallest listed total in FY2020. The subsequent totals increased in each fiscal year from FY2020 through FY2024. Because the table is organized by applicants’ area of birth, these totals should not be interpreted as a ranking by citizenship or current residence.
| Fiscal year | Immediate-relative immigrant visas issued |
|---|---|
| FY2015 | 243,432 |
| FY2016 | 315,352 |
| FY2017 | 254,430 |
| FY2018 | 236,526 |
| FY2019 | 186,584 |
| FY2020 | 108,292 |
| FY2021 | 170,604 |
| FY2022 | 212,185 |
| FY2023 | 245,696 |
| FY2024 | 265,467 |
FY2024 regional totals
The State Department’s Table VIII: Immediate Relative Visas Issued, Fiscal Year 2024 reports immediate-relative visas by broad region. In FY2024, the totals were 88,242 for Asia, 15,998 for Europe, 106,265 for North America, 705 for Oceania, and 18,083 for South America. The table’s grand total was 265,467.
| Applicant region | FY2024 immediate-relative visas |
|---|---|
| Asia | 88,242 |
| Europe | 15,998 |
| North America | 106,265 |
| Oceania | 705 |
| South America | 18,083 |
| Grand total | 265,467 |
North America had the largest regional total in this table, followed by Asia. Oceania had the smallest listed total. These are regional totals for visas issued at foreign service posts in FY2024; they are not population estimates and do not describe all family-based immigration activity inside the United States.
FY2024 immediate-relative categories
Table VIII also identifies the immediate-relative visa categories included in the FY2024 total. The IR-1 category for spouses of U.S. citizens accounted for 77,523 issuances. The CR-1 category for conditional spouses of U.S. citizens accounted for 20,067.
The table recorded 47,343 IR-2 visas for children of U.S. citizens and 116,348 IR-5 visas for parents of U.S. citizens age 21 or older. These category labels matter when comparing family immigration statistics: “immediate relatives” is a group that includes spouses, children, and parents, rather than a single relationship type.
The category figures provide a detailed view of the FY2024 consular total. They are reported as visa issuances at foreign service posts and should be kept distinct from the separate lawful-permanent-resident measures reported by the Department of Homeland Security.
Immediate relatives gaining permanent residence
The Department of Homeland Security’s 2022 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics reports people who obtained lawful permanent resident status as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. The series covers FY2013 through FY2022.
There were 439,460 such people in FY2013 and 416,456 in FY2014. The count rose to 465,068 in FY2015 and 566,706 in FY2016. It then declined to 516,508 in FY2017 and 478,961 in FY2018, before reaching 505,765 in FY2019.
The count was 321,148 in FY2020, 385,396 in FY2021, and 428,268 in FY2022. FY2020 was the lowest year in this supplied FY2013-FY2022 series, while FY2016 was the highest.
These are admissions or adjustments resulting in lawful permanent resident status, not overseas visa issuances. The fiscal year and measurement are therefore different from the State Department’s foreign-service-post tables.
Spouses and children gaining permanent residence
The same DHS yearbook reports separate figures for spouses and children of U.S. citizens who obtained lawful permanent resident status. For spouses, the counts were 248,332 in FY2013, 238,852 in FY2014, 265,367 in FY2015, 304,358 in FY2016, 292,909 in FY2017, 268,149 in FY2018, and 304,334 in FY2019.
For children of U.S. citizens, the reported counts were 37,379 in FY2020, 53,056 in FY2021, and 57,131 in FY2022. The supplied yearbook figures for this children series begin in FY2020, while the spouse series supplied here covers FY2013 through FY2019.
| Relationship and measure | Fiscal year | People obtaining lawful permanent resident status |
|---|---|---|
| Spouses of U.S. citizens | FY2013 | 248,332 |
| Spouses of U.S. citizens | FY2016 | 304,358 |
| Spouses of U.S. citizens | FY2019 | 304,334 |
| Children of U.S. citizens | FY2020 | 37,379 |
| Children of U.S. citizens | FY2021 | 53,056 |
| Children of U.S. citizens | FY2022 | 57,131 |
The relationship-specific counts are not interchangeable with the consular IR-1, CR-1, or IR-2 issuance counts. One source measures people obtaining permanent resident status; the other measures visas issued at foreign service posts.
Family-sponsored preference admissions
Family-sponsored preferences are another pathway reported in the DHS yearbook. The number of people who obtained lawful permanent resident status through family-sponsored preferences was 210,303 in FY2013, 229,104 in FY2014, and 213,910 in FY2015.
The count increased to 238,087 in FY2016 and then was 232,238 in FY2017, 216,563 in FY2018, and 204,139 in FY2019. It fell to 121,560 in FY2020 and 65,690 in FY2021, before rising to 166,041 in FY2022.
| Fiscal year | People obtaining permanent residence through family-sponsored preferences |
|---|---|
| FY2013 | 210,303 |
| FY2014 | 229,104 |
| FY2015 | 213,910 |
| FY2016 | 238,087 |
| FY2017 | 232,238 |
| FY2018 | 216,563 |
| FY2019 | 204,139 |
| FY2020 | 121,560 |
| FY2021 | 65,690 |
| FY2022 | 166,041 |
The FY2022 total was higher than the FY2020 and FY2021 totals but lower than each year from FY2013 through FY2019 in this series. These figures concern people obtaining lawful permanent resident status through family-sponsored preferences, whereas the State Department’s FY2024 preference figures concern immigrant visas issued at foreign service posts.