Legal immigration to the United States fell by half early this year under the Trump administration's immigration restrictions, with new immigrant visas issued to South Koreans down 19%.
The State Department issued only 26,000 immigrant visas in February, about half the monthly average of 52,000 before President Donald Trump took office, the New York Times reported on the 18th. Immigrant visas grant lawful permanent residency.
New immigrant visas for South Koreans totaled 340, down 19% from the monthly average of 420 in 2023 and 2024. South Korea was among 25 countries where new immigrant visas fell by more than 20%. Visas for China dropped 31%, while Japan and India fell 25% and 16%, respectively. Canada and Mexico, which were not subject to visa restrictions, saw increases of 142% and 17%, and together accounted for about 30% of all immigrant visas issued in February.
By region, Central Asia was hit hardest with a 99% decline, followed by Africa at 89%, Eastern Europe at 84%, the Middle East at 81% and Australia and Oceania at 73%. Immigration to the United States became effectively impossible from 91 countries, and immigration from Muslim-majority countries plunged by more than 90%.
Non-immigrant visas also declined. Visas for international students and workers fell 30% from a year earlier, while tourist and business visas dropped about 25% in February. Entry bans left nationals of 39 countries unable to obtain student or work visas at all, and new rules and fees reduced issuance of student visas and H-1B skilled worker visas for applicants from other countries. Refugee admissions were sharply curtailed, and asylum applications at ports of entry were blocked.
David Bier, an immigration expert at the Cato Institute, a think tank that supports expanded immigration, said that apart from the pandemic period, the current contraction in legal immigration is the largest since the Hoover administration unilaterally denied visas to qualified legal immigrants during the Great Depression.
The administration, for its part, said it introduced the policy to better screen for security risks and the likelihood that applicants would later rely on public assistance. The new policy took effect without congressional approval, and in late August federal courts in two separate lawsuits ordered the government to resume issuing visas. Visa issuance has not resumed despite the court orders.