Office of Immigration Statistics

POLICY DIRECTORATE

Nonimmigrant Admissions 

to the United States: 2013

KATIE FOREMAN AND RANDALL MONGER

Nonimmigrants are foreign nationals granted temporary admission to the United States. The 

major purposes for which nonimmigrant admission may be authorized include temporary 

visits for business or pleasure, academic or vocational study, temporary employment, or to act 

as a representative of a foreign government or international organization. The Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS) collects information on the characteristics of certain nonimmigrant 

admissions from I-94 arrival records. This Office of Immigration Statistics Annual Flow Report 

presents information gathered from I-94s on the number and characteristics of nonimmigrant 

admissions to the United States in 2013.1

Box 1. 

Change to 2013 I-94 admissions data

Beginning in April 2013, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) automated the 

I-94 process for nonimmigrants admitted at air and sea ports. This transition from paper Form I-94s to electronic I-94 records at air and sea ports resulted in a dramatic increase in the reported number of business and tourist travelers from Canada. Before April 2013, Canadian business and tourist visitors were generally not required to fill out the paper Form I-94 and 

were therefore typically not included in I-94 admissions data. Since the conversion to the electronic I-94, CBP automatically 

generates I-94 records for Canadian nonimmigrant visitors admitted at air and sea ports and includes these records in the 

I-94 nonimmigrant admission data. Admission counts for nonimmigrants who entered at land ports or who were from 

countries other than Canada were not affected by the transition to the electronic I-94 at air and sea ports.

During 2013, there were 173 million nonimmigrant 

admissions to the United States according to DHS workload estimates.2

 These admissions included tourists and 

business travelers from Canada, Mexican nationals with 

Border Crossing Cards, and nonimmigrants who were 

issued Form I-94 (I-94 admissions).3 I-94 admissions 

accounted for 35 percent (61.1 million) of total nonimmigrant admissions (see Figure 1). Ninety percent of 

I-94 admissions were temporary visitors for business 

and pleasure, while 4.9 percent were temporary workers and families and 2.9 percent were students. The 

leading countries of citizenship for I-94 admissions 

were Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

1 In this report, years refer to fiscal years (October 1 to September 30).

2 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), 

Operations Management Reporting, Fiscal Year 2013.

3 For this report, I-94 admissions refer to admissions documented with paper Form 

I-94/I-94Ws or electronic I-94/I-94Ws.

DEFINING “NONIMMIGRANT”

Nonimmigrants are aliens whose classes of admission 

are specified in section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration 
2

and Nationality Act (INA).4 Examples of nonimmigrant classes of 

admission include foreign government officials; temporary 

visitors for business and pleasure; aliens in transit; treaty traders 

and investors; academic and vocational students; temporary 

workers; exchange visitors; athletes and entertainers; victims of 

certain crimes; and certain family members of U.S. citizens and

lawful permanent residents. Maximum duration of stay is 

determined by class of admission. Unlike a person granted lawful

permanent resident status5 who is authorized to live, work, and 

study in the U.S. permanently, a nonimmigrant is authorized a 

temporary status for a specific purpose. The nonimmigrant’s 

activities, such as employment, travel, and accompaniment by 

dependents, are prescribed by his or her class of admission.

In this report, nonimmigrant admissions refer to the number of 

events (i.e., admissions to the United States) rather than to the number of individual nonimmigrants admitted. Admission numbers 

presented in this report will differ from the number of Department 

of State nonimmigrant visa issuances, which include all nonimmigrant visas that were issued regardless of whether, or how many 

times, the foreign national was admitted to the United States. 

4 There are a few nonimmigrant classes under statutory authority other than section 101(a)(15), 

in particular, NAFTA nonimmigrants and nationals of the Freely Associated States admitted under 

the Compacts of Free Association between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall 

Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.

5 Commonly referred to as a lawful permanent resident (LPR) or “green card” recipient.

THE NONIMMIGRANT ADMISSIONS PROCESS

Eligibility

In order to qualify for admission in a nonimmigrant status, a foreign national generally must meet all of the following criteria: 

establish that the visit will be temporary, agree to depart at the 

end of the authorized stay, possess a valid passport, maintain a 

foreign residence (in most cases), be admissible to the U.S. or 

have been granted a waiver for any grounds of inadmissibility, 

and abide by the terms and conditions of admission. 

Documentary Requirements

Prior to April 2013, applicants for nonimmigrant admission were 

required to complete a paper Form I-94/I-94W or Electronic 

System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)6registration to be admitted 

to the United States. Starting in April 2013, instead of requiring a 

nonimmigrant to complete the paper Form I-94/I-94W, CBP 

began generating electronic I-94s to record nonimmigrant arrivals 

at air and sea ports. Nonimmigrants are still required to complete 

the paper Form I-94/I-94W at land ports of entry. Mexican 

nationals with Border Crossing Cards (traveling within the border 

zone for a limited duration) and Canadian tourist and business 

travelers admitted at land ports of entry are generally exempt from 

the I-94 requirement.7 Prior to April 2013, Canadian tourist and 

business travelers at air and sea ports were exempt from the I-94 

requirement as well, but beginning in April 2013, admissions of 

these visitors were recorded with an electronic I-94. 

The Border Crossing Card (BCC) or “laser visa” issued to Mexican 

nationals is a machine-readable card that is valid for 10 years and 

contains a biometric indicator, such as a fingerprint. Applicants for 

a BCC must meet the same qualifications as applicants for a B1/B2 

visa (temporary visitor for business or pleasure), have a valid 

Mexican passport, and demonstrate that they will return to Mexico 

upon completion of their stay. 

6 ESTA is an internet-based system that determines the preliminary eligibility of visitors to be admitted under the Visa Waiver Program prior to their embarking on trips to the United States. ESTA 

registration must be renewed every two years or when a visitor’s passport expires, whichever 

occurs earlier. An electronic I-94W record is created upon admission at air and sea ports for ESTAregistered VWP entrants.

7 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials (seeking N1-N5 nonimmigrant classification) 

were also not required to submit an I-94 but may do so to document their admissions.

I-94 Admissions

Visa Required. If a visa is necessary for entry, the foreign national typically must apply at a U.S. embassy or consulate. The Online 

Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-160, or the Nonimmigrant 

Visa Application, Form DS-156, must be submitted for all applicants. 

In addition, an interview generally is required for applicants aged 14 

to 79 years. Possession of a valid visa does not guarantee admission. A 

CBP officer determines if the nonimmigrant may enter the United 

States and the authorized duration of stay. Prior to April 2013, foreign nationals with nonimmigrant visas were required to complete 

the paper Form I-94. Beginning in April 2013, those with nonimmigrant visas admitted at air and sea ports had an electronic I-94 generated to record their admissions while individuals admitted at land 

ports were still required to complete the paper I-94. 

Visa Waiver Program. The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows nationals 

of designated countries to travel to the United States as tourists or 

business travelers without a visa for a period not to exceed 90 

days. It was initially established as a pilot program in 1986 with 

the intent to eliminate barriers to travel, to facilitate tourism, and 

to promote better relations with U.S. allies. Qualified nationals of 

VWP countries must be admissible to the United States and not 

have violated the terms of any previous admission under the VWP; 

possess a valid unexpired machine-readable passport; travel on an 

approved carrier and possess a round trip ticket if arriving by air 

or sea; obtain travel authorization from ESTA; and waive their 

right to contest an immigration officer’s determination of admissibility and the right to contest removal, other than on the basis of 

an application for asylum. At air and sea ports, an electronic I-94W 

record is created upon admission for ESTA-registered VWP 

entrants. At land ports, the paper Form I-94W is required. 

Nationals of VWP countries must obtain a visa if they are traveling 

to the U.S. for a purpose other than tourism or business or if their 

stay will exceed 90 days. 

At the beginning of fiscal year 2013, 36 countries participated in 

the Visa Waiver Program: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, 

Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, 

Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, 

Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the 

Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, 

Singapore, South Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, 

Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Effective November 1, 2012, 

Taiwan was admitted to the Visa Waiver Program. Chile was admitted to the Visa Waiver Program effective March 31, 2014 (after the 

time period covered by this report.)
3

The Guam-Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands Visa 

Waiver Program (GCVWP) permits nationals of designated countries 

and geographic areas to be admitted to Guam or the Commonwealth 

of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) without a visa. Admissions 

under the GCVWP may not exceed 45 days in Guam and/or CNMI. 

In 2013, Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New 

Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and the 

United Kingdom were included in the GCVWP.8

Canadian Tourist and Business Admissions at Air and Sea Ports. Canadian shortterm business and tourist visitors to the United States are required to 

possess a valid passport or other Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative 

(WHTI) approved form of identification.9 These visitors are generally 

not required to obtain a visa or register with ESTA. Prior to April 

2013, these Canadian business and tourist travelers were also not typically required to complete a paper Form I-94. However, after CBP 

automated the I-94 process at air and sea ports in April 2013, CBP 

began generating electronic I-94s for short term Canadian tourists 

and business travelers admitted at air and sea ports. Prior to April 

2013, these visitors were not included in the I-94 admissions data. 

Since April 2013, Canadian tourist and business travelers admitted at 

air and sea ports have been recorded in the I-94 data as B1 or B2 

admissions. Canadian business and tourist travelers admitted at land 

ports of entry are still not typically required to complete a paper Form 

I-94 and are therefore generally not included in I-94 data.

8 On November 28, 2009, the GCVWP replaced the Guam Visa Waiver Program (GVWP) which 

permitted nationals of participating countries to be admitted to Guam without a visa. Australia, 

Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Singapore, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Vanuatu were included in the 

GVWP when it ended.

9 WHTI approved travel documents include an Enhanced Driver’s License, Enhanced Identification 

Card, or Trusted Traveler Program card.

DATA

The data in this report were obtained from TECS, a computer system 

used by CBP, which compiles and maintains information collected 

from nonimmigrants on the paper Form I-94/I-94W and electronic 

I-94/I-94W. Information collected from these I-94 records includes 

arrival and departure dates, port of entry, class of admission, country of citizenship, state of destination, age, and sex. Caution should 

be exercised when interpreting trends in I-94 admissions, as yearto-year fluctuations may reflect changes in data collection in addition to variation in travel patterns. For example, land admissions 

increased markedly in 2010 and 2011 because of changes in the 

way admissions were counted.10 As another example, Canadian 

admissions increased substantially from 2012 to 2013 because in 

April 2013, at air and sea ports, CBP began recording Canadian 

tourist and business travelers as B1 or B2 admissions with electronic I-94s. These Canadian admissions were not included in the 

I-94 data before April 2013 because Canadian tourist and business 

travelers were not typically required to fill out a paper Form I-94.

 10 

2011 was the first full year in which nearly all I-94/I94W land admissions were recorded. See 

Monger and Mathews (2011) for a more detailed discussion of how counting changes affected 

admissions.

CHARACTERISTICS OF I-94 NONIMMIGRANT 

ADMISSIONS

Class of Admission

There were 61,052,260 I-94 nonimmigrant admissions in 2013 

(see Table 1). The largest category of admission in 2013 was temporary visitors for pleasure which represented 79 percent of I-94 

admissions. This category includes the B2 (temporary visitors for 

Table 1. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Class of Admission: Fiscal Years 2011 to 2013 

Class of admission

2013 2012 2011

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total .......................................................... 61,052,260 100.0 53,887,286 100.0 53,082,286 100.0

Temporary workers and families ......................................... 2,996,743 4.9 3,049,419 5.7 3,385,775 6.4

Temporary workers and trainees ...................................... 1,853,915 3.0 1,900,582 3.5 2,092,028 3.9

CNMI-only transitional worker (CW1) ................................. 1,642 — D — — —

Workers in specialty occupations (H1B) .............................. 474,355 0.8 473,015 0.9 494,565 0.9

Chile and Singapore Free Trade Agreement (H1B1) ...................... 8 — D — 30 —

Registered nurses participating in the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged 

Areas Act (H1C) ............................................. 7 — 29 — 124 —

Agricultural workers (H2A) ........................................ 204,577 0.3 183,860 0.3 188,411 0.4

Nonagricultural workers and returning H2B workers (H2B, H2R) ............. 104,993 0.2 82,921 0.2 79,862 0.2

Trainees (H3) ................................................. 4,117 — 4,081 — 3,279 —

Workers with extraordinary ability or achievement and their assistants (O1, O2) .. 87,366 0.1 70,611 0.1 67,724 0.1

Internationally recognized athletes or entertainers (P1) ................... 85,583 0.1 84,209 0.2 84,545 0.2

Artists or entertainers in reciprocal exchange or culturally unique 

programs (P2, P3) ............................................ 21,818 — 22,116 — 22,660 —

Workers in international cultural exchange programs (Q1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,685 — 2,494 — 2,331 —

Workers in religious occupations (R1) ................................ 14,191 — 15,906 — 19,683 —

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) professional workers (TN) ...... 612,535 1.0 733,692 1.4 899,455 1.7

Spouses and children of temporary workers and trainees 

(CW2, H4, O3, P4, R2, TD) ...................................... 240,038 0.4 227,637 0.4 229,359 0.4

Intracompany transferees ........................................... 723,641 1.2 717,893 1.3 788,187 1.5

Intracompany transferees (L1) ..................................... 503,206 0.8 498,899 0.9 562,776 1.1

Spouses and children of intracompany transferees (L2) ................... 220,435 0.4 218,994 0.4 225,411 0.4

Treaty traders and investors and spouses and children (E1 to E3) .............. 373,360 0.6 386,472 0.7 454,101 0.9

Representatives of foreign media and their spouses and children (I1) ............ 45,827 0.1 44,472 0.1 51,459 0.1

See footnotes at end of table.
4

Table 1. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Class of Admission: Fiscal Years 2011 to 2013 — Continued

Class of admission

2013 2012 2011

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,669,225 2 .7 1,653,576 3 .1 1,788,962 3 .4

Academic students (F1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,577,509 2 .6 1,566,815 2 .9 1,702,730 3 .2

Vocational students (M1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,106 — 17,600 — 18,824 —

Spouses and children of academic and vocational students (F2, M2) . . . . . . . . . 72,610 0 .1 69,161 0 .1 67,408 0 .1

Exchange visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492,937 0 .8 475,232 0 .9 526,931 1 .0

Exchange visitors (J1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433,534 0 .7 421,425 0 .8 469,993 0 .9

Spouses and children of exchange visitors (J2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59,403 0 .1 53,807 0 .1 56,938 0 .1

Diplomats and other representatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373,330 0 .6 365,779 0 .7 377,830 0 .7

Ambassadors, public ministers, career diplomats, consular officers, other foreign 

government officials and their spouses, children, and attendants (A1 to A3) . . 200,825 0 .3 207,349 0 .4 215,186 0 .4

Representatives to international organizations and their spouses, children, 

and attendants (G1 to G5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141,744 0 .2 135,623 0 .3 139,378 0 .3

NATO officials and their families (N1 to N7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,761 0 .1 22,807 — 23,266 —

Temporary visitors for pleasure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,346,018 79 .2 42,041,426 78 .0 40,591,607 76 .5

Temporary visitors for pleasure (B2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,915,467 49 .0 24,476,086 45 .4 23,806,138 44 .8

Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure (WT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,168,958 28 .1 16,380,307 30 .4 15,718,710 29 .6

Guam – CNMI Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure to Guam 

or Northern Mariana Islands (GMT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,261,593 2 .1 1,185,033 2 .2 1,066,759 2 .0

Temporary visitors for business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,299,533 10 .3 5,707,218 10 .6 5,696,503 10 .7

Temporary visitors for business (B1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,498,688 5 .7 2,972,355 5 .5 3,055,932 5 .8

Visa Waiver Program - temporary visitors for business (WB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,798,130 4 .6 2,731,887 5 .1 2,637,166 5 .0

Guam – CNMI Visa Waiver Program - temporary visitors for business to 

Guam or Northern Mariana Islands (GMB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,715 — 2,976 — 3,405 —

Transit aliens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628,711 1 .0 313,514 0 .6 322,499 0 .6

Aliens in continuous and immediate transit through the United States (C1) . . . . . 608,396 1 .0 289,105 0 .5 296,636 0 .6

Aliens in transit to the United Nations (C2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,269 — 4,158 — 4,397 0 .0

Foreign government officials, their spouses, children, and attendants in transit (C3) . . . 18,046 — 20,251 — 21,466 —

Commuter Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105,263 0 .2 115,561 0 .2 108,894 0 .2

Canadian or Mexican national academic commuter students (F3) . . . . . . . . . . . . 105,263 0 .2 115,561 0 .2 108,892 0 .2

Canadian or Mexican national vocational commuter students (M3) . . . . . . . . . . . — — — — D —

Alien fiancé(e)s of U .S . citizens and children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,773 — 32,102 0 .1 27,700 0 .1

Fiancé(e)s of U .S . citizens (K1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,046 — 27,977 0 .1 24,112 —

Children of K1 (K2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,727 — 4,125 — 3,588 —

Alien spouses of U .S . citizens and children, immigrant visa pending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,679 — 5,152 — 20,977 —

Spouses of U .S . citizens, visa pending (K3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,262 — 4,534 — 17,874 —

Children of U .S . citizens, visa pending (K4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417 — 618 — 3,103 —

Alien spouses of U .S . permanent residents and children, immigrant visa pending . . . . . . 1,335 — 3,075 — 9,122 —

Spouses of permanent residents, visa pending (V1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867 — 1,928 — 3,659 —

Children of permanent residents, visa pending (V2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 — 449 — 2,546 —

Dependents of V1 or V2, visa pending (V3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 — 698 — 2,917 —

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 — 91 — 93 —

Unknown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107,626 0 .2 125,141 0 .2 225,393 0 .4

X Not applicable .

— Represents zero or rounds to 0 .0 .

D Data withheld to limit disclosure .

Source: U .S . Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), TECS, Arrival File, Fiscal Years 2011 to 2013 .

pleasure) and WT (Visa Waiver Program—temporary visitors for 

pleasure) classes of admission which accounted for 49 and 28 percent, respectively, of all admissions. Approximately 10 percent of 

admissions in 2013 were in the temporary visitors for business 

category of admission. B1 (temporary visitors for business) admissions represented 5.7 percent of all admissions and WB (Visa 

Waiver Program—temporary visitors for business) accounted for 

4.6 percent. Five percent of all admissions were by temporary 

workers and their families. The leading classes of admission in this 

category were TN NAFTA professional workers (1.0 percent), H1B 

workers in specialty occupations (0.8 percent), and L1 intracompany transferees (0.8 percent). F1 academic students represented 

2.6 percent of I-94 admissions and nearly all of the admissions in 

the student category.

Country of Citizenship

The leading countries of citizenship for nonimmigrant admissions 

to the United States in 2013 were Mexico (29 percent), the United 

Kingdom (7.5 percent), Canada (7.3 percent), Japan (7.0 percent), Germany (3.9 percent), Brazil (3.5 percent), China (3.4 

percent), France (3.2 percent), South Korea (2.7 percent), and 

India (2.4 percent) (see Table 2). Admissions from Canada 

increased from 1,466,120 in 2012 to 4,445,881 in 2013 because 

CBP began recording Canadian air and sea admissions of tourists 

and business travelers in April 2013.

Port of Entry

The largest 20 ports of entry represented 67 percent of nonimmigrant admissions in 2013 (see Table 3). About half of all nonimmigrants were admitted through the following ports of entry: 

New York (10 percent), Miami (9.3 percent), Los Angeles (6.8 
5

percent), Newark (3.5 percent), Honolulu (3.5 percent), San 

Francisco (3.3 percent), San Ysidro (3.2 percent), Chicago (3.0 

percent), Otay Mesa (2.5 percent), Atlanta (2.5 percent), and 

Houston (2.5 percent). 

Table 2. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Country of Citizenship: Fiscal Years 2011 to 2013

Country of citizenship

2013 2012 2011

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total .......................................................... 61,052,260 100.0 53,887,286 100.0 53,082,286 100.0

Mexico ........................................................... 17,980,784 29.5 16,462,118 30.5 17,052,559 32.1

United Kingdom ..................................................... 4,566,669 7.5 4,486,666 8.3 4,547,728 8.6

Canada ........................................................... 4,445,881 7.3 1,466,120 2.7 1,868,179 3.5

Japan ............................................................ 4,298,081 7.0 4,141,299 7.7 3,777,643 7.1

Germany .......................................................... 2,359,681 3.9 2,308,207 4.3 2,182,441 4.1

Brazil ............................................................. 2,143,154 3.5 1,792,425 3.3 1,539,015 2.9

China ............................................................ 2,098,801 3.4 1,756,747 3.3 1,364,078 2.6

France ............................................................ 1,959,424 3.2 1,913,551 3.6 1,845,227 3.5

Korea, South ....................................................... 1,656,795 2.7 1,527,085 2.8 1,460,972 2.8

India ............................................................. 1,491,712 2.4 1,296,276 2.4 1,222,302 2.3

Other ............................................................. 17,886,490 29.3 16,461,702 30.5 15,737,991 29.6

Unknown .......................................................... 164,788 0.3 275,090 0.5 484,151 0.9

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), TECS, Arrival File, Fiscal Years 2011 to 2013.

Table 3. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Port of Entry: Fiscal Years 2011 to 2013

Port of entry

2013 2012 2011

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total .......................................................... 61,052,260 100.0 53,887,286 100.0 53,082,286 100.0

New York, NY ....................................................... 6,129,709 10.0 5,744,877 10.7 5,344,781 10.1

Miami, FL .......................................................... 5,679,558 9.3 5,115,113 9.5 4,712,293 8.9

Los Angeles, CA ..................................................... 4,165,812 6.8 3,905,034 7.2 3,734,815 7.0

Newark, NJ ........................................................ 2,148,824 3.5 2,088,591 3.9 2,181,506 4.1

Honolulu, HI ........................................................ 2,107,178 3.5 1,892,134 3.5 1,581,719 3.0

San Francisco, CA ................................................... 1,986,263 3.3 1,859,836 3.5 1,777,202 3.3

San Ysidro, CA ...................................................... 1,981,939 3.2 2,082,911 3.9 2,781,270 5.2

Chicago, IL ......................................................... 1,832,126 3.0 1,606,615 3.0 1,596,960 3.0

Otay Mesa, CA ...................................................... 1,523,289 2.5 1,303,897 2.4 1,215,475 2.3

Atlanta, GA ........................................................ 1,516,566 2.5 1,379,717 2.6 1,397,240 2.6

Houston, TX ........................................................ 1,501,909 2.5 1,382,759 2.6 1,425,534 2.7

Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, TX ............................................... 1,446,231 2.4 1,302,120 2.4 1,273,830 2.4

Toronto, Canada ..................................................... 1,323,357 2.2 404,655 0.8 381,181 0.7

Agana, GU ......................................................... 1,293,000 2.1 1,202,976 2.2 1,083,381 2.0

Washington, DC ..................................................... 1,239,607 2.0 1,165,318 2.2 1,127,737 2.1

Nogales, AZ ........................................................ 1,144,427 1.9 1,012,572 1.9 1,056,990 2.0

Orlando, FL ........................................................ 1,117,181 1.8 1,048,272 1.9 924,684 1.7

Dallas, TX ......................................................... 1,112,289 1.8 914,619 1.7 795,472 1.5

Boston, MA ........................................................ 861,150 1.4 660,107 1.2 628,687 1.2

Hidalgo, TX ........................................................ 838,216 1.4 797,264 1.5 642,152 1.2

Other ............................................................. 19,888,346 32.6 16,841,339 31.3 17,232,077 32.5

Unknown .......................................................... 215,283 0.4 176,560 0.3 187,300 0.4

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), TECS, Arrival File, Fiscal Years 2011 to 2013.

State of Destination

The most frequent states of destination for I-94 nonimmigrant 

admissions in 2013 were California (18 percent), Florida (13 percent), Texas (13 percent), and New York (11 percent) (see Table 4). 

These four states represented the destinations of 55 percent of foreign nationals admitted.

Age and Sex

In 2013, 60 percent of I-94 admissions were accounted for by 

individuals aged 25 to 54, and 51 percent of nonimmigrant 

admissions were male (see Table 5). Age and sex distributions 

remained relatively unchanged between 2011 and 2013.
6

Table 4. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by State of Destination: Fiscal Years 2011 to 2013

State of destination

2013 2012 2011

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total .......................................................... 61,052,260 100.0 53,887,286 100.0 53,082,286 100.0

California .......................................................... 11,182,804 18.3 10,208,709 18.9 10,306,971 19.4

Florida ............................................................ 8,089,139 13.2 7,234,508 13.4 6,690,019 12.6

Texas ............................................................ 7,605,578 12.5 6,854,454 12.7 6,559,787 12.4

New York .......................................................... 6,805,732 11.1 6,409,286 11.9 6,226,198 11.7

Hawaii ............................................................ 2,261,576 3.7 1,969,089 3.7 1,666,432 3.1

Nevada ........................................................... 2,128,680 3.5 1,793,376 3.3 1,729,040 3.3

Arizona ........................................................... 1,952,808 3.2 1,749,492 3.2 1,800,715 3.4

Washington ........................................................ 1,415,063 2.3 1,262,020 2.3 1,158,160 2.2

Illinois ............................................................ 1,197,625 2.0 1,021,476 1.9 979,740 1.8

Massachusetts ..................................................... 1,056,505 1.7 963,171 1.8 930,826 1.8

Other ............................................................. 10,986,783 18.0 10,147,921 18.8 10,196,030 19.2

Unknown .......................................................... 6,369,967 10.4 4,273,784 7.9 4,838,368 9.1

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), TECS, Arrival File, Fiscal Years 2011 to 2013.

Table 5. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Age and Sex: Fiscal Years 2011 to 2013

Characteristic

2013 2012 2011

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

AGE

Total .......... 61,052,260 100.0 53,887,286 100.0 53,082,286 100.0

Under 18 years ..... 6,922,805 11.3 6,067,171 11.3 5,771,094 10.9

18 to 24 years ...... 5,672,694 9.3 4,978,091 9.2 4,910,932 9.3

25 to 34 years ...... 12,929,049 21.2 11,433,982 21.2 11,402,173 21.5

35 to 44 years ...... 12,866,158 21.1 11,685,053 21.7 11,844,788 22.3

45 to 54 years ...... 10,885,774 17.8 9,566,343 17.8 9,422,045 17.7

55 to 64 years ...... 7,132,243 11.7 6,181,493 11.5 6,003,548 11.3

65 years and over ... 4,580,183 7.5 3,873,243 7.2 3,623,230 6.8

Unknown .......... 63,354 0.1 101,910 0.2 104,476 0.2

SEX

Total .......... 61,052,260 100.0 53,887,286 100.0 53,082,286 100.0

Male ............. 31,420,318 51.5 27,825,034 51.6 27,385,129 51.6

Female ........... 29,285,737 48.0 25,605,018 47.5 24,867,990 46.8

Unknown .......... 346,205 0.6 457,234 0.8 829,167 1.6

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), TECS, Arrival File, Fiscal Years 2011 

to 2013.

REFERENCES

Monger, Randall and Mathews, Megan, 2011. 

“Nonimmigrant Admissions to the United States: 

2010,” Office of Immigration Statistics, Policy 

Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland 

Security, http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/

statistics/publications/ni_fr_2010.pdf
7

Appendix A. 

Nonimmigrant Classes of Admission — Continued

Class Description

Temporary Workers and Families

Temporary workers and trainees

CW1 . . . . . . . . CNMI-only transitional workers

CW2 . . . . . . . . Spouses and children of CW1

H1B . . . . . . . . Workers in specialty occupations

H1B1 . . . . . . . Chile and Singapore Free Trade Agreement aliens

H1C . . . . . . . . Registered nurses participating in the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas

H2A . . . . . . . . Agricultural workers

H2B . . . . . . . . Nonagricultural workers

H2R . . . . . . . . Returning H2B workers

H3 . . . . . . . . . Trainees

H4 . . . . . . . . . Spouses and children of H1, H2, or H3

O1 . . . . . . . . . Workers with extraordinary ability or achievement

O2 . . . . . . . . . Workers accompanying and assisting in performance of O1 workers

O3 . . . . . . . . . Spouses and children of O1 and O2

P1 . . . . . . . . . . Internationally recognized athletes or entertainers

P2 . . . . . . . . . . Artists or entertainers in reciprocal exchange programs

P3 . . . . . . . . . . Artists or entertainers in culturally unique programs

P4 . . . . . . . . . . Spouses and children of P1, P2, or P3

Q1 . . . . . . . . . Workers in international cultural exchange programs

R1 . . . . . . . . . Workers in religious occupations

R2 . . . . . . . . . Spouses and children of R1

TN . . . . . . . . . . North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) professional workers

TD . . . . . . . . . . Spouses and children of TN

Intracompany transferees

L1 . . . . . . . . . . Intracompany transferees

L2 . . . . . . . . . . Spouses and children of L1

Treaty traders and investors

E1 . . . . . . . . . . Treaty traders and their spouses and children

E2 . . . . . . . . . . Treaty investors and their spouses and children

E2C . . . . . . . . . Treaty traders and their spouses and children CNMI-only

E3 . . . . . . . . . . Australian Free Trade Agreement principals, spouses and children

Representatives of foreign information media

I1 . . . . . . . . . . Representatives of foreign information media and spouses and children

Students

F1 . . . . . . . . . . Academic students

F2 . . . . . . . . . . Spouses and children of F1

M1 . . . . . . . . . Vocational students

M2 . . . . . . . . . Spouses and children of M1

Exchange visitors

J1 . . . . . . . . . . Exchange visitors

J2 . . . . . . . . . . Spouses and children of J1

Diplomats and other representatives

A1 . . . . . . . . . . Ambassadors, public ministers, career diplomatic or consular officers and their families

A2 . . . . . . . . . . Other foreign government officials or employees and their families

A3 . . . . . . . . . . Attendants, servants, or personal employees of A1 and A2 and their families

G1 . . . . . . . . . Principals of recognized foreign governments 

G2 . . . . . . . . . Other representatives of recognized foreign governments 

G3 . . . . . . . . . Representatives of nonrecognized or nonmember foreign governments

G4 . . . . . . . . . International organization officers or employees

G5 . . . . . . . . . Attendants, servants, or personal employees of representatives

N1 to N7 . . . . . North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials, spouses, and children

Temporary visitors for pleasure

B2 . . . . . . . . . Temporary visitors for pleasure

WT . . . . . . . . . Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure

GT . . . . . . . . . . Guam Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure to Guam

GMT . . . . . . . . Guam-CNMI – temporary visitors for pleasure to Guam or Northern Mariana Islands
8

Appendix A. 

Nonimmigrant Classes of Admission — Continued

Class Description

Temporary visitors for business

B1 . . . . . . . . . Temporary visitors for business

WB . . . . . . . . . Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business

GB . . . . . . . . . Guam Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business to Guam 

GMB . . . . . . . . Guam-CNMI – temporary visitors for business to Guam or Northern Mariana Islands

Transit aliens

C1 . . . . . . . . . Aliens in continuous and immediate transit through the United States

C2 . . . . . . . . . Aliens in transit to the United Nations 

C3 . . . . . . . . . Foreign government officials, their spouses, children, and attendants in transit

Commuter Students

F3 . . . . . . . . . . Canadian or Mexican national academic commuter students

M3 . . . . . . . . . Canadian or Mexican national vocational commuter students

Alien Fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens

K1 . . . . . . . . . Fiancé(e)s of U .S . citizens

K2 . . . . . . . . . Children of K1

Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act

K3 . . . . . . . . . Spouses of U .S . citizens, immigrant visa pending

K4 . . . . . . . . . Children of K3, immigrant visa pending

V1 to V3 . . . . . Spouses and children of permanent residents, immigrant visa pending

Other categories

N8 . . . . . . . . . Parents of international organization special immigrants

N9 . . . . . . . . . Children of N8 or international organization special immigrants

Q2 . . . . . . . . . Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program aliens 

Q3 . . . . . . . . . Spouses and children of Q2

Source: U .S . Department of Homeland Security .