Annual Flow Report JULY 2012

Office of Immigration Statistics

POLICY DIRECTORATE

Nonimmigrant Admissions 

to the United States: 2011

RANDALL MONGER

Nonimmigrants are foreign nationals granted temporary entry into 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, and 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 (see Box 1). 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 2011.1

Box 1. 

Note on recent changes to I-94 admission data

I-94 admissions in 2010 and 2011 were greater than in previous years due to land admission counting changes. By March 

2010, the Department of Homeland Security completed updates to computer systems so that nearly all I-94 land admissions—initial and subsequent entries of an individual—were recorded. Previously, at land ports, typically only the initial admission was counted.

During 2011, there were 159 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 I-94 admissions.3 I-94 

admissions accounted for 33 percent (53.1 million) of 

the total admissions (see Figure 1). The majority (87 

percent) of I-94 admissions were temporary visitors for 

business and pleasure, while 6.4 percent were temporary workers and families and 3.4 percent were students. 

The leading countries of citizenship for I-94 admissions 

were Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

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 2011.

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

I-94/I-94Ws and electronic I-94Ws.

DEFINING “NONIMMIGRANT”

Nonimmigrants are aliens whose classes of admission 

are specified in Section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration 

and Nationality Act (INA). 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 

Figure 1.

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only): 1991 to 2011

Millions

Note: Major changes in the counting of land border entries affected 2010 

and 2011 admission numbers.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Fiscal Years 1991 to 2011.

1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0
2 DHS Office of Immigration Statistics

visitors; athletes and entertainers; victims of certain crimes; and 

family members of U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, and 

special immigrants. Maximum duration of stay is determined by 

class of admission. A person granted lawful permanent resident 

status4 is authorized to live, work, and study in the U.S. permanently; conversely, a nonimmigrant is in a temporary status for a 

specific purpose and whose activities, such as employment, travel, 

and accompaniment by dependents, are prescribed by his or her 

class of admission. 

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

THE NONIMMIGRANT ADMISSIONS PROCESS

Defining “Admissions” 

In this report, nonimmigrant admissions refer to number of events 

(i.e., entries into the U.S.) rather than individuals. More than one 

entry on the same day is counted as one admission. Admission 

numbers presented in this report will differ from the number of 

Department of State visa issuances, which includes all visas that 

were issued regardless of whether the foreign national entered the 

United States. 

Eligibility

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

evidence 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 able to provide proof of financial 

support, 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

Applicants for nonimmigrant admission are required to complete 

a paper Form I-94/I-94W or Electronic System for Travel 

Authorization (ESTA)5 registration to enter the United States. 

However, Mexican nationals with Border Crossing Cards (when 

traveling within the border zone for a limited duration) and tourists and business travelers from Canada are generally exempt from 

these requirements.6

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 have ties to Mexico 

that would compel them to return. 

5 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.

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

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 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; further, an 

interview is required for all applicants aged 14 to 79 years. 

Possession of a visa allows a foreign national to travel to a U.S. port 

of entry but does not guarantee admission. A U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection (CBP) officer determines if the nonimmigrant 

may enter the U.S. and the permitted duration of stay. Foreign 

nationals with a nonimmigrant visa must complete the paper 

Form I-94. 

Visa Waiver Program 

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows nationals from participating 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 

established, initially 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 VWPparticipating countries must possess a security-enhanced passport 

valid for six months beyond their expected stay; travel on an 

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

or sea; demonstrate both intent to stay 90 days or less and sufficient funds to support themselves during their stay; and obtain 

approval from ESTA. 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. 

During 2011, 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.

The Guam-Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands Visa 

Waiver Program (GCVWP) permits nationals of participating 

countries 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 or CNMI. In 

2011, 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.7

7 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.
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics 3

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-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 gender. 

Caution should be exercised when interpreting recent trends in 

I-94 admissions because of the counting changes described in Box 

1. The changes affected admission counts for all countries of citizenship, classes of admission, and states of destination but had the 

most impact on Mexican and Canadian admissions. The precise 

impact of the counting changes is unknown but may be better 

understood by examining trends in the number of individuals 

admitted (see Mathews, 2012). 

CHARACTERISTICS OF I-94 NONIMMIGRANT ADMISSIONS

In 2011, there were 53.1 million I-94 admissions to the United 

States. The number of I-94 admissions recorded in 2011 was substantially larger than in 2010 (46.5 million) because 2011 was the 

first full year in which nearly all land admissions were recorded. 

Land admission counts during the first five months of 2011 (after 

counting changes) were 190 percent greater than land admissions 

during the same months of 2010 (before full implementation of 

counting changes) (see Table 1).

Table 1. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Month of Arrival and Mode of Travel: Fiscal Years 2010 to 2011

Month of arrival

Land Admissions Non-Land Admissions

2011 2010 2011 2010

 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,150,600 14,538,246 33,931,686 31,933,270

October . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,741,880 465,807 2,923,573 2,658,042

November . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,713,739 473,477 2,402,573 2,225,550

December . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,178,463 707,614 2,870,477 2,770,389

January . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,632,359 426,548 2,469,631 2,320,914

February . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,360,213 901,388 2,126,528 2,060,100

March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,440,545 1,456,223 2,427,706 2,567,164

April . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,551,947 1,462,512 2,900,001 2,367,889

May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,363,903 1,523,444 2,784,864 2,717,462

June . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,370,378 1,511,887 2,963,465 2,805,820

July . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,757,530 1,960,793 3,553,382 3,358,060

August . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,637,827 1,935,524 3,425,760 3,204,107

September . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,401,816 1,713,029 3,083,726 2,877,773

Source: U .S . Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, TECS, Arrival File, Fiscal Years 2010 to 2011 .

Class of Admission

The leading categories of admission in 2011 were temporary visitors for pleasure (76 percent), temporary visitors for business (11 

percent), temporary workers and families (6.4 percent), and students (3.4 percent) (see Table 2). Owing largely to land port 

counting changes, admission counts for temporary visitors for pleasure, temporary visitors for business, and temporary workers and 

families increased from 2009 to 2010 and again from 2010 to 

2011. Greater numbers of Mexican B1 and B2 admissions and 

Canadian TN, L1, and H1B admissions were recorded at the land 

border after the counting changes were implemented (see Table 3). 

Country of Citizenship

The leading countries of citizenship for nonimmigrant admissions 

to the United States in 2011 were Mexico (32 percent), the United 

Kingdom (8.6 percent), Japan (7.1 percent), Germany (4.1 percent), Canada (3.5 percent), France (3.5 percent), Brazil (2.9 

percent), South Korea (2.8 percent), China (2.6 percent), Australia 

(2.3 percent) (see Table 4). These ten countries accounted for 

approximately 69 percent of nonimmigrant admissions to the 

United States. Admissions of Mexican and Canadian nationals were 

greater in 2010 than in 2009 and in 2011 than 2010 as a result of 

land admissions counting changes. 
4 DHS Office of Immigration Statistics

Table 2. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Class of Admission: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011

Class of admission

2011 2010 2009

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ........................................................... 53,082,286 100.0 46,471,516 100.0 36,231,554 100.0

Temporary workers and families ......................................... 3,385,775 6.4 2,816,525 6.1 1,703,697 4.7

 Temporary workers and trainees ...................................... 2,092,028 3.9 1,682,132 3.6 936,272 2.6

 Workers in specialty occupations (H1B) ............................. 494,565 0.9 454,763 1.0 339,243 0.9

 Chile and Singapore Free Trade Agreement (H1B1) ..................... 30 -- 163 -- 213 --

 Registered nurses participating in the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas

 Act (H1C) .................................................. 124 -- 295 -- 231 --

 Seasonal agricultural workers (H2A) ................................ 188,411 0.4 139,406 0.3 149,763 0.4

 Seasonal nonagricultural workers and returning H2B workers (H2B,H2R) ...... 79,862 0.2 69,499 0.1 56,543 0.2

 Trainees (H3) ................................................ 3,279 -- 3,078 -- 4,168 --

 Workers with extraordinary ability or achievement and their assistants (O1, O2) .. 67,724 0.1 63,984 0.1 58,566 0.2

 Internationally recognized athletes or entertainers (P1) .................. 84,545 0.2 72,917 0.2 54,432 0.2

 Artists or entertainers in reciprocal exchange or culturally unique programs

 (P2, P3) ................................................... 22,660 -- 20,882 -- 15,469 --

 Workers in international cultural exchange programs (Q1) ................. 2,331 -- 2,430 -- 2,555 --

 Workers in religious occupations (R1) ............................... 19,683 -- 21,043 -- 17,362 --

 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) professional workers (TN) ..... 899,455 1.7 634,121 1.4 99,018 0.3

 Spouses and children of temporary workers and trainees (H4, O3, P4, R2, TD) ... 229,359 0.4 199,551 0.4 138,709 0.4

 Intracompany transferees ........................................... 788,187 1.5 702,460 1.5 493,992 1.4

 Intracompany transferees (L1) .................................... 562,776 1.1 502,732 1.1 333,386 0.9

 Spouses and children of intracompany transferees (L2) .................. 225,411 0.4 199,728 0.4 160,606 0.4

 Treaty traders and investors and spouses and children (E1 to E3) .............. 454,101 0.9 383,700 0.8 229,301 0.6

 Representatives of foreign media and their spouses and children (I1) ........... 51,459 0.1 48,233 0.1 44,132 0.1

Students .......................................................... 1,788,962 3.4 1,595,078 3.4 951,964 2.6

 Academic students (F1) ............................................ 1,702,730 3.2 1,514,783 3.3 895,392 2.5

 Vocational students (M1) ........................................... 18,824 -- 17,641 -- 14,632 --

 Spouses and children of academic and vocational students (F2, M2) ............ 67,408 0.1 62,654 0.1 41,940 0.1

Exchange visitors .................................................... 526,931 1.0 543,335 1.2 459,408 1.3

 Exchange visitors (J1) .............................................. 469,993 0.9 484,740 1.0 413,150 1.1

 Spouses and children of exchange visitors (J2) ............................ 56,938 0.1 58,595 0.1 46,258 0.1

Diplomats and other representatives 377,830 0.7 380,241 0.8 323,183 0.9

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

 government officials and their spouses, children, and attendants (A1 to A3) ..... 215,186 0.4 214,111 0.5 175,119 0.5

 Representatives to international organizations and their spouses, children, 

 and attendants (G1 to G5) ........................................ 139,378 0.3 141,492 0.3 127,584 0.4

 NATO officials and their families (N1 to N7) .............................. 23,266 -- 24,638 0.1 20,480 0.1

Temporary visitors for pleasure .......................................... 40,578,964 76.4 35,131,310 75.6 27,800,027 76.7

 Temporary visitors for pleasure (B2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,806,138 44.8 19,144,042 41.2 12,680,504 35.0

 Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure (WT) ................... 15,706,067 29.6 14,821,569 31.9 14,272,553 39.4

 Guam Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure to Guam (GT) ........ X X 120,544 0.3 846,970 2.3

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

 or Northern Mariana Islands (GMT) .................................. 1,066,759 2.0 1,045,155 2.2 X X

Temporary visitors for business .......................................... 5,694,809 10.7 5,205,980 11.2 4,390,888 12.1

 Temporary visitors for business (B1) ................................... 3,055,932 5.8 2,944,397 6.3 2,408,092 6.6

 Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business (WB) .................. 2,635,472 5.0 2,256,611 4.9 1,977,361 5.5

 Guam Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business to Guam (GB) ....... X X 904 -- 5,435 --

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

 Northern Mariana Islands (GMB) .................................... 3,405 -- 4,068 -- X X

Transit aliens ....................................................... 322,499 0.6 327,584 0.7 346,695 1.0

 Aliens in continuous and immediate transit through the United States (C1) ....... 296,636 0.6 304,023 0.7 326,704 0.9

 Aliens in transit to the United Nations (C2) ............................... 4,397 -- 2,987 -- 2,613 --

 Foreign government officials, their spouses, children, and attendants in transit (C3) . 21,466 -- 20,574 -- 17,378 --

Commuter Students .................................................. 108,894 0.2 53,711 0.1 6,488 --

 Canadian or Mexican national academic commuter students (F3) .............. 108,892 0.2 53,711 0.1 6,488 --

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

Alien fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens and children ................................ 27,700 0.1 34,893 0.1 32,009 0.1

 Fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens (K1) ....................................... 24,112 -- 30,445 0.1 27,754 0.1

 Children of K1 (K2) ................................................ 3,588 -- 4,448 -- 4,255 --

Alien spouses of U.S. citizens and children, immigrant visa pending ................ 20,977 -- 30,172 0.1 15,515 --

 Spouses of U.S. citizens, visa pending (K3) .............................. 17,874 -- 25,615 0.1 12,937 --

 Children of U.S. citizens, visa pending (K4) .............................. 3,103 -- 4,557 -- 2,578 --

Alien spouses of U.S. permanent residents and children, immigrant visa pending ...... 9,122 -- 8,638 -- 5,445 --

 Spouses of permanent residents, visa pending (V1) ........................ 3,659 -- 3,620 -- 2,482 --

 Children of permanent residents, visa pending (V2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,546 -- 2,206 -- 1,424 --

 Dependents of V1 or V2, visa pending (V3) ............................... 2,917 -- 2,812 -- 1,539 --

Other ............................................................. 93 -- 92 -- 74 --

Unknown .......................................................... 239,730 0.5 343,957 0.7 196,161 0.5

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 2009 to 2011.
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics 5

Table 3. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Mode of Travel, Selected Country of Citizenship, and Selected Class of Admission: 

Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011

Class of admission

Land Admissions Non-Land Admissions

2011 2010 2009 2011 2010 2009

 Total ................................................. 19,150,600 14,538,246 6,298,259 33,931,686 31,933,270 29,933,295

Canada

 Total Canada ........................................... 1,749,884 1,310,916 159,525 118,295 118,024 132,117

 Workers in specialty occupations (H1B) ......................... 70,586 55,197 6,099 17,650 17,762 16,057

 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) professional workers (TN). . . 794,836 553,834 52,031 20,323 19,841 25,762

 Intracompany transferees (L1) ................................ 131,637 98,494 7,508 12,579 11,238 10,725

 Treaty traders and investors and spouses and children (E1 to E3) ....... 46,460 31,453 2,306 3,959 3,723 3,808

 Academic students (F1) ..................................... 364,493 278,851 25,596 15,141 14,601 14,699

 Exchange visitors (J1) ...................................... 27,167 26,293 4,082 3,951 3,408 3,532

 Temporary visitors for pleasure (B2) ............................ 94,512 73,347 22,628 13,224 13,475 15,739

 Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure (WT) ........... X X X X X X

 Temporary visitors for business (B1) ............................ 37,514 28,648 10,077 5,109 5,845 6,759

 Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business (WB) ........... X X X X X X

 All other classes of admission* ............................... 182,679 164,799 29,198 26,359 28,131 35,036

Mexico

 Total Mexico. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,788,895 10,908,618 4,794,510 2,263,664 2,009,170 1,806,549

 Workers in specialty occupations (H1B) ......................... 24,726 17,876 2,924 12,849 12,696 11,428

 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) professional workers (TN). . . 70,056 48,747 8,924 14,240 11,699 12,301

 Intracompany transferees (L1) ................................ 47,177 35,889 5,777 14,978 13,761 14,476

 Treaty traders and investors and spouses and children (E1 to E3) ....... 129,582 89,060 12,709 11,054 9,231 8,777

 Academic students (F1) ..................................... 318,228 277,337 57,185 20,081 17,827 16,312

 Exchange visitors (J1) ...................................... 19,832 18,854 4,885 8,263 7,927 7,504

 Temporary visitors for pleasure (B2) ............................ 12,884,148 9,470,250 4,210,932 1,789,581 1,540,249 1,379,713

 Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure (WT) ........... X X X X X X

 Temporary visitors for business (B1) ............................ 743,764 549,958 263,158 332,727 338,411 302,495

 Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business (WB) ........... X X X X X X

 All other classes of admission* ............................... 551,382 400,647 228,016 59,891 57,369 53,543

All other countries*

 Total other countries ...................................... 2,611,821 2,318,712 1,344,224 31,549,727 29,806,076 27,994,629

 Workers in specialty occupations (H1B) ......................... 48,425 43,298 10,076 320,329 307,934 292,659

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

 Intracompany transferees (L1) ................................ 64,361 57,080 13,234 292,044 286,270 281,666

 Treaty traders and investors and spouses and children (E1 to E3) ....... 77,737 66,810 14,478 185,309 183,423 187,223

 Academic students (F1) ..................................... 71,943 100,048 22,912 912,844 826,119 758,688

 Exchange visitors (J1) ...................................... 27,164 43,345 11,996 383,616 384,913 381,151

 Temporary visitors for pleasure (B2) ............................ 916,798 769,343 385,909 8,107,875 7,277,378 6,665,583

 Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure (WT) ........... 1,149,129 967,873 793,569 14,556,938 13,853,696 13,478,984

 Temporary visitors for business (B1) ............................ 70,542 71,724 36,132 1,866,276 1,949,811 1,789,471

 Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for business (WB) ........... 55,777 46,253 31,094 2,579,695 2,210,358 1,946,267

 All other classes of admission* ............................... 129,945 152,938 24,824 2,344,801 2,526,174 2,212,937

X Not applicable.

* Includes unknown.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), TECS, Arrival File, Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011.

Table 4. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Country of Citizenship: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011 

Country of citizenship

2011 2010 2009

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ........................................................... 53,082,286 100.0 46,471,516 100.0 36,231,554 100.0

Mexico ........................................................... 17,052,559 32.1 12,917,788 27.8 6,601,059 18.2

United Kingdom ..................................................... 4,547,728 8.6 4,539,433 9.8 4,713,284 13.0

Japan ............................................................ 3,777,643 7.1 3,831,174 8.2 3,368,590 9.3

Germany .......................................................... 2,182,441 4.1 2,076,216 4.5 2,023,971 5.6

Canada ........................................................... 1,868,179 3.5 1,428,940 3.1 291,642 0.8

France ............................................................ 1,845,227 3.5 1,696,770 3.7 1,683,372 4.6

Brazil ............................................................. 1,539,015 2.9 1,233,457 2.7 959,448 2.6

Korea, South ....................................................... 1,460,972 2.8 1,332,387 2.9 906,006 2.5

China ............................................................ 1,364,078 2.6 1,038,279 2.2 729,931 2.0

Australia .......................................................... 1,246,091 2.3 1,037,683 2.2 834,000 2.3

Other ............................................................. 15,698,851 29.6 14,773,452 31.8 13,825,663 38.2

Unknown .......................................................... 499,502 0.9 565,937 1.2 294,588 0.8

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), TECS, Arrival File, Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011.
6 DHS Office of Immigration Statistics

Port of Entry

The leading 20 ports of entry represented 69 percent of nonimmigrant admissions in 2011 (see Table 5). About half of all 

nonimmigrants were admitted through the following ports of 

entry: New York (10 percent), Miami (8.9 percent), Los Angeles 

(7 percent), San Ysidro (5.2 percent), Newark (4.1 percent), San 

Francisco (3.3 percent), Chicago (3 percent), Honolulu (3 percent), Houston (2.7 percent), and Atlanta (2.6 percent). Due to 

more complete counting at the land borders, the distribution of 

entries by leading ports changed between 2009 and 2011. In 

2009, four land ports (San Ysidro, CA; Otay Mesa, CA; JuarezLincoln Bridge, TX; and Calexico, CA) were among the twenty 

leading ports of entry; in 2011, seven land ports (the ports previously mentioned; plus Nogales, AZ; Bridge of the Americas, TX; 

and Laredo, TX) were in the leading twenty. 

Table 5. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Port of Entry: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011 

Port of entry

2011 2010 2009

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ........................................................... 53,082,286 100.0 46,471,516 100.0 36,231,554 100.0

New York, NY ....................................................... 5,344,781 10.1 5,119,971 11.0 4,893,526 13.5

Miami, FL .......................................................... 4,712,293 8.9 4,277,515 9.2 4,148,134 11.4

Los Angeles, CA ..................................................... 3,734,815 7.0 3,420,098 7.4 3,128,072 8.6

San Ysidro, CA ...................................................... 2,781,270 5.2 1,862,181 4.0 818,201 2.3

Newark, NJ ........................................................ 2,181,506 4.1 2,260,006 4.9 2,155,169 5.9

San Francisco, CA ................................................... 1,777,202 3.3 1,634,512 3.5 1,536,106 4.2

Chicago, IL ......................................................... 1,596,960 3.0 1,567,273 3.4 1,507,469 4.2

Honolulu, HI ........................................................ 1,581,719 3.0 1,456,867 3.1 1,301,172 3.6

Houston, TX ........................................................ 1,425,534 2.7 1,291,591 2.8 1,129,056 3.1

Atlanta, GA ........................................................ 1,397,240 2.6 1,341,807 2.9 1,411,368 3.9

Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, TX ............................................... 1,273,830 2.4 905,928 1.9 457,376 1.3

Otay Mesa, CA ...................................................... 1,215,475 2.3 1,000,424 2.2 524,899 1.4

Washington, DC ..................................................... 1,127,737 2.1 1,124,523 2.4 1,095,936 3.0

Agana, GU ......................................................... 1,083,381 2.0 1,152,925 2.5 1,032,255 2.8

Nogales, AZ ........................................................ 1,056,990 2.0 847,218 1.8 437,850 1.2

Orlando, FL ........................................................ 924,684 1.7 928,145 2.0 860,652 2.4

Bridge of the Americas, TX ............................................. 880,325 1.7 741,650 1.6 244,564 0.7

Dallas, TX ......................................................... 795,472 1.5 684,861 1.5 634,135 1.8

Laredo, TX ......................................................... 751,210 1.4 533,893 1.1 175,392 0.5

Calexico, CA ........................................................ 748,371 1.4 647,442 1.4 447,141 1.2

Other ............................................................. 16,504,191 31.1 13,611,305 29.3 8,250,074 22.8

Unknown .......................................................... 187,300 0.4 61,381 0.1 43,007 0.1

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), TECS, Arrival File, Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011.

State of Destination

The most frequent states of destination for I-94 nonimmigrant 

admissions in 2011 were California (19 percent), Florida (13 percent), Texas (12 percent), and New York (12 percent) (see Table 

6). These four states represented the destinations of 56 percent of 

foreign nationals admitted.

Table 6. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by State of Destination: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011

State of destination

2011 2010 2009

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ........................................................... 53,082,286 100.0 46,471,516 100.0 36,231,554 100.0

California .......................................................... 10,306,971 19.4 8,251,404 17.8 5,834,364 16.1

Florida ............................................................ 6,690,019 12.6 6,064,266 13.0 5,538,668 15.3

Texas ............................................................ 6,559,787 12.4 4,739,265 10.2 2,601,837 7.2

New York .......................................................... 6,226,198 11.7 5,722,492 12.3 4,672,808 12.9

Arizona ........................................................... 1,800,715 3.4 1,494,581 3.2 915,169 2.5

Nevada ........................................................... 1,729,040 3.3 1,481,485 3.2 1,089,367 3.0

Hawaii ............................................................ 1,666,432 3.1 1,568,684 3.4 1,356,835 3.7

Michigan .......................................................... 1,338,947 2.5 999,172 2.2 342,745 0.9

Washington ........................................................ 1,158,160 2.2 895,444 1.9 658,957 1.8

Illinois ............................................................ 979,740 1.8 873,547 1.9 783,554 2.2

Other ............................................................. 9,787,909 18.4 9,082,064 19.5 7,557,160 20.9

Unknown .......................................................... 4,838,368 9.1 5,299,112 11.4 4,880,090 13.5

Note: Caution should be exercised when comparing 2011 and 2010 state of destination distribution with previous years because of a change in the data extraction process during 2010.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), TECS, Arrival File, Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011.

Age and Gender

In 2011, 62 percent of I-94 admissions were accounted for by 

individuals aged 25 to 54, and 52 percent of nonimmigrant 

admissions were male (see Table 7). Age and gender distributions 

remained relatively unchanged between 2009 and 2011.
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics 7

Table 7. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Age and Gender: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011

Characteristic

2011 2010 2009

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

AGE

 Total ........................................................... 53,082,286 100.0 46,471,516 100.0 36,231,554 100.0

Under 18 years ..................................................... 5,771,094 10.9 4,898,300 10.5 3,827,259 10.6

18 to 24 years ...................................................... 4,910,932 9.3 4,413,891 9.5 3,606,833 10.0

25 to 34 years ...................................................... 11,402,173 21.5 10,192,941 21.9 8,122,114 22.4

35 to 44 years ...................................................... 11,844,788 22.3 10,231,864 22.0 7,583,877 20.9

45 to 54 years ...................................................... 9,422,045 17.7 8,100,205 17.4 6,083,712 16.8

55 to 64 years ...................................................... 6,003,548 11.3 5,306,174 11.4 4,274,540 11.8

65 years and over ................................................... 3,623,230 6.8 3,225,188 6.9 2,683,064 7.4

Unknown .......................................................... 104,476 0.2 102,953 0.2 50,155 0.1

GENDER

 Total ........................................................... 53,082,286 100.0 46,471,516 100.0 36,231,554 100.0

Male ............................................................. 27,385,129 51.6 23,828,461 51.3 18,563,229 51.2

Female ........................................................... 24,867,990 46.8 21,537,205 46.3 16,844,114 46.5

Unknown .......................................................... 829,167 1.6 1,105,850 2.4 824,211 2.3

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), TECS, Arrival File, Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011.

REFERENCES

Mathews, Megan, 2012. “The Impact of Counting Changes 

on Nonimmigrant Admissions: Preliminary Findings,” Office 

of Immigration Statistics, Policy Directorate, U.S. Department 

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

statistics/publications/ois_ni_individuals_fs.pdf
8 DHS Office of Immigration Statistics

Appendix A. 

Nonimmigrant Classes of Admission 

Class Description

Temporary Workers and Families

 Temporary workers and trainees

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 ........ Seasonal agricultural workers

H2B ........ Seasonal 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

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

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
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics 9

Appendix A. 

Nonimmigrant Classes of Admission (continued)

Class Description

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

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.