Office of Immigration Statistics

POLICY DIRECTORATE

DECEMBER 2016

Nonimmigrant Admissions 

to the United States: 2015

JOHN TEKE AND WALEED NAVARRO

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

major purposes for which nonimmigrant admission is 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, among others. The United 

States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) collects information on the characteristics of 

certain nonimmigrant admissions from DHS Form I-94 arrival records. This DHS 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 2015.

Annual Flow Report

 

During 2015,1 DHS granted a total of more than 181 

million nonimmigrant admissions to the United States, 

according to DHS workload estimates (see Figure 1).2

These admissions included about 104.4 million visitors, 

mainly business travelers and tourists from Canada and 

Mexico, who were exempted from filling out I-94/I94W forms, as discussed below, and about 76.6 million 

nonimmigrants who were issued Form I-94/I-94W 

(collectively referred to as I-94 admissions)—the primary focus of this report.3

 About 90 percent of I-94 

admissions were temporary visitors for business and 

pleasure, 4.9 percent were temporary workers and their 

families, and 2.6 percent were students and their families. The leading countries of citizenship for I-94 admissions were Mexico (27 percent), Canada (18 percent), 

the United Kingdom (6.5 percent), Japan (5.2 percent), 

and China (3.8 percent).

DEFINING “NONIMMIGRANT”

Nonimmigrants are foreign nationals admitted temporarily to the United States within classes of admission that 

are defined in section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration 

and Nationality Act (INA).4

 Examples of nonimmigrant 

classes of admission include foreign government officials, 

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

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

Operations Management Reporting, Fiscal Year 2015.

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

electronic Form I-94/I-94Ws.

4 A few nonimmigrant classes are authorized in sections other than INA section 

101(a)(15), including 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.

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 (LPRs). Unlike people granted LPR, 

or “green card” status, who may live in the United States 

essentially without restrictions, nonimmigrants are 

authorized to enter the country for specific purposes. 

Nonimmigrants’ duration of stay and lawful activities, 

such as employment, travel, and accompaniment by 

dependents, are prescribed by their class of admission.
2

Some nonimmigrants enter the United States more than once in a 

given year, and this report describes the number of nonimmigrant 

admission events rather than 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.

THE NONIMMIGRANT ADMISSIONS PROCESS

Eligibility

To qualify for admission in a nonimmigrant status, a foreign 

national generally must 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 United States or have been granted a waiver for any 

grounds of inadmissibility, and agree to abide by the terms and 

conditions of admission. Additional requirements differ based on 

a foreign national’s country of citizenship and the conditions of 

their visit, as discussed below.

Documentary Requirements

Visa Required. Most classes of nonimmigrants are required to obtain 

a visa to enter the United States. In these cases, foreign nationals 

must fill out an Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form 

DS-160, or a Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-156. In 

addition, applicants aged 14 to 79 years are generally required to 

visit a U.S. embassy or consulate and be interviewed by a consular 

official. 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.

Mexican Tourist and Business Admissions. Mexican nationals who meet the 

requirements for a B1/B2 visa (temporary visitor for business or 

pleasure), have a valid Mexican passport, demonstrate that they 

will return to Mexico upon completion of their stay, and reside in 

close proximity to the U.S./Mexico border may be eligible for a 

Border Crossing Card (BCC) or “laser visa.” The BCC is a machinereadable card that is valid for 10 years and contains fingerprint 

and other biometric data. Those who reside in the interior areas of 

Mexico are issued visas affixed to their passports.

To be admitted to the U.S.-Mexico border zone (up to 25 or 75 

miles from the border, depending on the entry location) without 

a Form I–94 as a nonimmigrant visitor, a Mexican national must 

be in possession of a BCC or a passport and valid visa, or for a 

Mexican national who is a member of the Texas Band of Kickapoo 

Indians or Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, a Form I–872 American 

Indian Card. Generally, Mexican nationals are required to present 

a BCC or a valid passport with a valid nonimmigrant visa, unless 

exempt. Mexican nationals with BCCs or Form I-872 are generally authorized to travel within the border zone for up to 30 days 

at a time without having to obtain a Form I–94. Also, Mexicans 

entering the United States with a passport and visa may remain in 

the border zone for up to 72 hours without having to obtain an 

I–94. However, Mexican nationals traveling beyond these specified zones, who will remain beyond the time periods indicated 

above, or who seek entry for purposes other than as a temporary 

visitor for business or pleasure, are required to obtain and 

complete a Form I–94.

Canadian Tourist and Business Admissions. Canadian short-term business 

and tourist visitors to the United States are required to possess a 

valid Canadian passport or other Western Hemisphere Travel 

Initiative (WHTI)-approved form of identification,5

 but they 

generally are not required to obtain a visa or apply for travel 

authorization through the Electronic System for Travel 

Authorization (ESTA).

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 periods not to exceed 90 days. 

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 machine-readable passport; travel on an approved carrier and possess a round trip ticket 

if arriving by air or sea; obtain travel authorization through ESTA; 

and waive their right to contest an immigration officer’s 

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

Card, or Trusted Traveler Program card.

Box 1. 

Changes to 2013 and 2014 I-94 Admissions Data

Data in this report are based on paper and electronic Forms I-94/I-94W, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) uses to 

record certain nonimmigrant admissions. As described in greater detail below, a number of changes to I-94 procedures in recent 

years affect I-94 admissions data. Beginning in 2010, DHS completed updates to computer systems at vehicular lanes and pedestrian 

crossings along the Northern and Southwest borders to record land admissions previously excluded from I-94 data systems. 

Beginning in April 2013, CBP automated the I-94 process for nonimmigrants admitted at air and sea ports. This transition from paper 

to electronic I-94 records at air and sea ports also means that CBP automatically generates I-94 records for Canadian business and 

tourist travelers admitted at air and sea ports even though they generally are not required to fill out I-94 forms. In 2014 CBP made 

additional changes to its electronic data systems, which have resulted in large increases in the number of I-94 admissions recorded 

compared to previous years.
3

determination of admissibility and the right to contest removal, 

other than on the basis of an application for asylum. Nationals of 

VWP countries must obtain a visa if they are traveling to the 

United States for a purpose other than tourism or business or if 

their stay will exceed 90 days.

As of fiscal year 2015, 38 countries participated in the VWP: 

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, Taiwan, the United 

Kingdom, and Chile, whose admission to the VWP was 

March 31, 2014.

The Guam-Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Visa 

Waiver Program (GCVWP) permits nationals of designated countries and geographic areas to be admitted to Guam or the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) without 

a visa. Admissions under the GCVWP may not exceed 45 days in 

Guam and/or CNMI. In 2014, Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong,6

Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, 

Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom 

participated in the GCVWP.7

THE I-94 FORM

CBP collects information from most classes of nonimmigrants 

arriving in the United States on paper and electronic Forms 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 gender. Detailed 

nonimmigrant data in this report were obtained from CBP’s TECS 

database, which compiles and maintains I-94 information.

The I-94 data do not describe all nonimmigrant admissions because 

certain visitors are not required to fill out I-94 forms. In general, 

Canadians traveling to the United States on B1 tourist or B2 business visas and Mexicans entering with BCCs who plan to remain in 

the border region are not required to complete the I-94 Form.8

These exceptions are significant because Canadian and Mexican citizens make up the vast majority of all nonimmigrant admissions.

Caution should be exercised when interpreting trends in I-94 

admissions because I-94 policies have undergone important 

changes in recent years. First, between 2005 and March 2010, 

6 Eligibility for Hong Kong includes citizens of the former colony of Hong Kong who are in possession of the United Kingdom passport that states “British National Overseas” or holders of the 

Special Administrative Region (SAR) travel document. Both of these travel documents must be in 

conjunction with a Hong Kong Identification Card.

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.

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

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

the foreign military generally are not issued an I-94 when entering the U.S. under military orders.

DHS completed updates to computer systems at vehicular lanes 

and pedestrian crossings along the Northern and Southwest borders to record land admissions that were previously excluded from 

I-94 data systems. Consequently, the numbers of I-94 nonimmigrant admissions in 2010 and 2011 greatly exceeded totals 

reported in previous years. Second, beginning in April 2013, CBP 

automated the I-94 process for nonimmigrants admitted at air and 

sea ports. As part of this automation, CBP began generating 

electronic I-94s for short-term Canadian tourists and business 

travelers admitted at air and sea ports who had previously been 

exempted from the form—a change resulting in additional 

increases in the I-94 data. (Canadian tourists and business travelers 

entering at land ports of entry are still excluded from the I-94 

data.) Most recently, CBP implemented new electronic data 

collection systems which resulted in less complete recording of 

certain data elements including country of residence, gender, and 

state of destination, but also in more complete recording of country of citizenship. ESTA and I-94 collection methods were

digitized through the Automated Passport Control (APC) and 

Global Entry (GE) systems which do not require fields of these 

data elements to be collected.

CHARACTERISTICS OF I-94 NONIMMIGRANT ADMISSIONS

Class of Admission

CBP granted 76,638,236 I-94 nonimmigrant admissions in 2015 

(see Table 1). The largest category of admission in 2015 was temporary visitors for pleasure, which represented 80 percent of I-94 

admissions. This category includes the B2 (temporary visitors for 

pleasure) and WT (VWP—temporary visitors for pleasure) classes 

of admission, which accounted for 54 and 24 percent, respectively, 

of all admissions. Approximately 10 percent of admissions in 2015 

were in the temporary visitors for business category of admission. 

B1 (temporary visitors for business) admissions represented 6.4 

percent of all admissions and WB (VWP—temporary visitors for 

business) accounted for 4.0 percent. About 4.9 percent of all 

admissions consisted of temporary workers and their families. The 

leading classes of admission in this category were TN NAFTA professional workers (1.0 percent), L1 intracompany transferees (0.8 

percent), and H1B workers in specialty occupations (0.7 percent). 

F1 academic students represented 2.5 percent of I-94 admissions, 

nearly all of the admissions in the student category.

Country of Citizenship

The leading countries of citizenship for I-94 nonimmigrant 

admissions to the United States in 2015 were Mexico (27 percent), Canada (18 percent), the United Kingdom (6.5 percent), 

Japan (5.2 percent), China (3.8 percent), Brazil (3.3 percent), 

Germany (3.1 percent), France (2.7 percent), South Korea (2.5 

percent), and India (2.5 percent) (see Table 2). I-94 admissions 

from Canada increased from 13,254,972 in 2014 to 13,408,292 

in 2015 following a large increase from 4,445,881 in 2013 as 

CBP began recording Canadian air and sea admissions of tourists 

and business travelers in April 2013.
4

Table 1. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Class of Admission: Fiscal Years 2013 to 2015

Class of admission

2015 2014 2013

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total .......................................................... 76,638,236 100.0 74,930,606 100.0 61,052,260 100.0

Temporary workers and families ......................................... 3,722,543 4.9 3,398,961 4.5 2,996,743 4.9

Temporary workers and trainees ...................................... 2,306,962 3.0 2,095,175 2.8 1,853,915 3.0

CNMI-only transitional workers (CW1) ................................ 5,096 - 4,045 - 1,642 -

Workers in specialty occupations (H1B) .............................. 537,450 0.7 511,773 0.7 474,355 0.8

Chile and Singapore Free Trade Agreement aliens (H1B1) .................. 93 - D - 8 -

Registered nurses participating in the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas 

(H1C) ..................................................... - - D - 7 -

Agricultural workers (H2A) ........................................ 283,580 0.4 240,620 0.3 204,577 0.3

Nonagricultural workers and returning H2B workers (H2B, H2R) ............. 120,219 0.2 105,416 0.1 104,993 0.2

Trainees (H3) ................................................. 3,514 - 4,306 - 4,117 -

Workers with extraordinary ability or achievement and their assistants (O1, O2) .. 119,679 0.2 107,191 0.1 87,366 0.1

Internationally recognized athletes or entertainers (P1) ................... 99,351 0.1 95,470 0.1 85,583 0.1

Artists or entertainers in reciprocal exchange or culturally unique programs (P2, P3) 26,021 - 24,999 - 21,818 -

Workers in international cultural exchange programs (Q1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,988 - 2,976 - 2,685 -

Workers in religious occupations (R1) ................................ 14,109 - 13,839 - 14,191 -

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) professional workers (TN) ...... 787,180 1.0 712,737 1.0 612,535 1.0

Spouses and children of temporary workers and trainees (CW2, H4, O3, P4, R2, TD) 307,682 0.4 271,773 0.4 240,038 0.4

Intracompany transferees ........................................... 917,613 1.2 835,707 1.1 723,641 1.2

Intracompany transferees (L1) ..................................... 648,611 0.8 591,728 0.8 503,206 0.8

Spouses and children of intracompany transferees (L2) ................... 269,002 0.4 243,979 0.3 220,435 0.4

Treaty traders and investors and spouses and children (E1 to E3) .............. 449,732 0.6 422,025 0.6 373,360 0.6

Representatives of foreign media and spouses and children (I1) ............... 48,236 0.1 46,054 0.1 45,827 0.1

Students .......................................................... 1,990,661 2.6 1,837,664 2.5 1,669,225 2.7

Academic students (F1) .......................................... 1,886,948 2.5 1,737,927 2.3 1,577,509 2.6

Vocational students (M1) ......................................... 19,878 - 20,534 - 19,106 -

Spouses and children of academic and vocational students (F2, M2) ......... 83,835 0.1 79,203 0.1 72,610 0.1

Exchange visitors .................................................... 576,347 0.8 557,760 0.7 492,937 0.8

Exchange visitors (J1) ........................................... 502,372 0.7 486,827 0.6 433,534 0.7

Spouses and children of exchange visitors (J2) ......................... 73,975 0.1 70,933 0.1 59,403 0.1

Diplomats and other representatives ...................................... 438,477 0.6 421,144 0.6 373,330 0.6

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

government officals and their spouses, children, and attendants (A1 to A3) ... 224,963 0.3 220,837 0.3 200,825 0.3

Representatives to international organizations and their spouses, children, and 

attendants (G1 to G5) ......................................... 161,354 0.2 152,903 0.2 141,744 0.2

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials, spouses, and children (N1 to N7) 52,160 0.1 47,404 0.1 30,761 0.1

Temporary visitors for pleasure .......................................... 61,017,237 79.6 59,784,922 79.8 48,346,018 79.2

Temporary visitors for pleasure (B2) ................................. 41,671,997 54.4 40,457,847 54.0 29,915,467 49.0

Visa Waiver Program - temporary visitors for pleasure (WT) ................. 18,138,442 23.7 18,161,646 24.2 17,168,958 28.1

Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program - temporary visitors for pleasure to Guam or 

Northern Mariana Islands (GMT) .................................. 1,206,798 1.6 1,165,429 1.6 1,261,593 2.1

Temporary visitors for business .......................................... 8,008,659 10.4 7,734,191 10.3 6,299,533 10.3

Temporary visitors for business (B1) ................................. 4,933,958 6.4 4,755,509 6.3 3,498,688 5.7

Visa Waiver Program - temporary visitors for business (WB) ................ 3,070,226 4.0 2,976,445 4.0 2,798,130 4.6

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

Northern Mariana Islands (GMB) ................................. 4,475 - 2,237 0.0 2,715 -

Transit aliens ....................................................... 689,990 0.9 1,004,916 1.3 628,711 1.0

Aliens in continuous and immediate transit through the United States (C1) ..... 672,420 0.9 987,546 1.3 608,396 1.0

Aliens in transit to the United Nations (C2) ............................ 524 - 638 - 2,269 -

Foreign government officials, their spouses, children, and attendants in transit (C3) ... 17,046 - 16,732 - 18,046 -

Commuter Students .................................................. 100,495 0.1 109,833 0.1 105,263 0.2

Canadian or Mexican national academic commuter students (F3) ............ 100,495 0.1 109,833 0.1 105,263 0.2

Alien fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens and children ................................ 35,266 - 41,778 0.1 29,773 -

Fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens (K1) .................................... 30,942 - 36,680 - 26,046 -

Children of K1 (K2) ............................................. 4,324 - 5,098 - 3,727 -

Alien spouses of U.S. citizens and children, immigrant visa pending ................ 743 - 1,340 - 1,679 -

Spouses of U.S. citizens, visa pending (K3) ............................ 644 - 1,004 - 1,262 -

Children of U.S. citizens, visa pending (K4) ............................ 99 - 336 - 417 -

Alien spouses of U.S. permanent residents and children, immigrant visa pending ...... 884 - 935 - 1,335 -

Spouses of permanent residents, visa pending (V1) ...................... 563 - 647 - 867 -

Children of permanent residents, visa pending (V2) ...................... 307 - 252 - 271 -

Dependents of V1 or V2, visa pending (V3) ............................ 14 - 36 - 197 -

Other ............................................................. 74 - 72 - 87 -

Unknown .......................................................... 56,860 0.1 37,090 - 107,626 0.2

-- Represents zero or rounds to 0.0.

D Data withheld to limit disclosure.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
5

Table 2. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Country of Citizenship: Fiscal Years 2013 to 2015

Country of citizenship

2015 2014 2013

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total .......................................................... 76,638,236 100.0 74,930,606 100.0 61,052,260 100.0

Mexico ........................................................... 20,378,001 26.6 20,002,936 26.7 17,980,784 29.5

Canada ........................................................... 13,408,292 17.5 13,254,972 17.7 4,445,881 7.3

United Kingdom ..................................................... 4,968,044 6.5 4,814,074 6.4 4,566,669 7.5

Japan ............................................................ 4,021,857 5.2 4,199,152 5.6 4,298,081 7.0

China ............................................................ 2,935,175 3.8 2,555,896 3.4 2,098,801 3.4

Brazil ............................................................. 2,505,525 3.3 2,390,245 3.2 2,143,154 3.5

Germany .......................................................... 2,381,765 3.1 2,448,591 3.3 2,359,681 3.9

France ............................................................ 2,075,665 2.7 2,115,350 2.8 1,959,424 3.2

Korea, South ....................................................... 1,946,887 2.5 1,780,662 2.4 1,656,795 2.7

India ............................................................. 1,898,327 2.5 1,720,729 2.3 1,491,712 2.4

Other ............................................................. 20,067,213 26.2 19,622,267 26.2 17,886,490 29.3

Unknown .......................................................... 51,485 0.1 25,732 - 164,788 0.3

-- Represents zero or rounds to 0.0.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Table 3. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Port of Entry: Fiscal Years 2013 to 2015

Port of entry

2015 2014 2013

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total .......................................................... 76,638,236 100.0 74,930,606 100.0 61,052,260 100.0

New York, NY ....................................................... 7,008,893 9.1 6,840,544 9.1 6,129,709 10.0

Miami, FL .......................................................... 6,143,161 8.0 5,996,284 8.0 5,679,558 9.3

Los Angeles, CA ..................................................... 4,802,308 6.3 4,511,326 6.0 4,165,812 6.8

Toronto, Canada ..................................................... 3,711,453 4.8 3,272,177 4.4 1,323,357 2.2

San Ysidro, CA ...................................................... 2,562,392 3.3 2,198,221 2.9 1,981,939 3.2

Newark, NJ ........................................................ 2,314,270 3.0 2,378,659 3.2 2,148,824 3.5

San Francisco, CA ................................................... 2,248,550 2.9 2,107,390 2.8 1,986,263 3.3

Honolulu, HI ........................................................ 2,189,114 2.9 2,184,386 2.9 2,107,178 3.5

Chicago, IL ......................................................... 2,092,782 2.7 2,112,491 2.8 1,832,126 3.0

Houston, TX ........................................................ 1,946,343 2.5 1,855,594 2.5 1,501,909 2.5

Vancouver, Canada ................................................... 1,730,938 2.3 1,573,396 2.1 741,873 1.2

Otay Mesa, CA ...................................................... 1,724,207 2.2 1,777,473 2.4 1,523,289 2.5

Atlanta, GA ........................................................ 1,672,693 2.2 1,697,023 2.3 1,516,566 2.5

Boston, MA ........................................................ 1,670,740 2.2 1,333,341 1.8 861,150 1.4

Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, TX ............................................... 1,590,967 2.1 1,630,676 2.2 1,446,231 2.4

Orlando, FL ........................................................ 1,475,907 1.9 1,261,033 1.7 1,117,181 1.8

Dallas, TX ......................................................... 1,349,493 1.8 1,236,698 1.7 1,112,289 1.8

Nogales, AZ ........................................................ 1,316,397 1.7 1,301,907 1.7 1,144,427 1.9

Washington, DC ..................................................... 1,301,120 1.7 1,317,550 1.8 1,239,607 2.0

Agana, GU ......................................................... 1,281,865 1.7 1,260,180 1.7 1,293,000 2.1

Other ............................................................. 26,150,583 34.1 26,764,781 35.7 19,984,689 32.7

Unknown .......................................................... 354,060 0.5 319,476 0.4 215,283 0.4

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Port of Entry

The largest 20 ports of entry accounted for 65 percent of I-94 

nonimmigrant admissions in 2015 (see Table 3). About half of all 

nonimmigrants were admitted through New York (9.1 percent), 

Miami (8.0 percent), Los Angeles (6.3 percent), Toronto9 (4.8 

9 DHS is the U.S. government agency responsible for securing U.S. borders and facilitating international trade and travel. Through CBP preclearance operations, the same immigration, customs, 

and agriculture inspections of international air passengers performed on arrival in the United 

States are completed before departure at foreign airports instead. Currently, pre-clearance operations take place at 15 foreign airports in six different countries (including Canada - Toronto and 

Vancouver), benefitting air passengers, airports, and air carriers, in the United States and abroad.

percent), San Ysidro (3.3 percent), Newark (3.0 percent), San 

Francisco (2.9 percent), Honolulu (2.9 percent), Chicago (2.7 

percent), Houston (2.5 percent), Vancouver (2.3 percent), Otay 

Mesa (2.2 percent), Atlanta (2.2 percent), Boston (2.2 percent), 

and Juarez-Lincoln Bridge (2.1 percent). The Boston port of entry 

reported the highest increase (25 percent) in the number of nonimmigrant admissions in 2015, while Otay Mesa reported the 

largest decrease (-3.0 percent; see Figure 2).
6

Table 5. 

Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94 only) by Age and Gender: Fiscal Years 2013 to 2015

Characteristic

2015 2014 2013

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

AGE

Total .......... 76,638,236 100.0 74,930,606 100.0 61,052,260 100.0

Under 18 years ..... 8,463,271 11.0 8,244,844 11.0 6,922,805 11.3

18 to 24 years ...... 6,943,086 9.1 6,705,294 8.9 5,672,694 9.3

25 to 34 years ...... 15,881,268 20.7 15,461,342 20.6 12,929,049 21.2

35 to 44 years ...... 15,485,833 20.2 15,329,585 20.5 12,866,158 21.1

45 to 54 years ...... 13,889,828 18.1 13,618,203 18.2 10,885,774 17.8

55 to 64 years ...... 9,576,303 12.5 9,345,085 12.5 7,132,243 11.7

65 years and over ... 6,388,772 8.3 6,220,330 8.3 4,580,183 7.5

Unknown .......... 9,875 - 5,923 - 63,354 0.1

GENDER

Total .......... 76,638,236 100.0 74,930,606 100.0 61,052,260 100.0

Female ........... 32,699,741 42.7 33,942,123 45.3 29,285,737 48.0

Male ............. 35,439,601 46.2 36,306,392 48.5 31,420,318 51.5

Unknown .......... 8,498,894 11.1 4,682,091 6.2 346,205 0.6

- Represents zero or rounds to 0.0. 

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Table 4. 

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

to 2015

State of destination

2015 2014 2013

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total .......... 76,638,236 100.0 74,930,606 100.0 61,052,260 100.0

California .......... 10,609,329 13.8 10,102,622 13.5 11,182,804 18.3

Florida ............ 10,253,858 13.4 9,180,841 12.3 8,089,139 13.2

New York .......... 7,773,970 10.1 7,419,709 9.9 6,805,732 11.1

Texas ............ 5,064,473 6.6 5,248,779 7.0 7,605,578 12.5

Hawaii ............ 2,714,804 3.5 2,552,833 3.4 2,261,576 3.7

Nevada ........... 2,489,732 3.2 2,293,655 3.1 2,128,680 3.5

Arizona ........... 1,690,893 2.2 1,653,321 2.2 1,952,808 3.2

Illinois ............ 1,437,223 1.9 1,309,781 1.7 1,197,625 2.0

Massachusetts ..... 1,246,289 1.6 1,156,761 1.5 1,056,505 1.7

Washington ........ 1,174,095 1.5 1,141,456 1.5 1,415,063 2.3

Other ............. 11,893,587 15.5 10,904,311 14.6 10,986,783 18.0

Unknown .......... 20,289,983 26.5 21,966,537 29.3 6,369,967 10.4

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

State of Destination

The most frequent states of destination for I-94 

nonimmigrant admissions in 2015 were 

California (14 percent), Florida (13 percent), 

New York (10 percent), and Texas (6.6 percent) 

(see Table 4). These four states represented the 

destinations of approximately 44 percent of foreign nationals granted temporary admission to 

the United States in 2015. The largest increase in 

the number of nonimmigrant admissions in 

2015 was for those destined for Florida (12 percent), whereas the number of nonimmigrant 

admissions in 2015 bound for Massachusetts 

decreased by 3.5 percent.

Age and Gender

In 2015, 59 percent of I-94 admissions were 

individuals aged 25 to 54. Of all I-94 admissions, 46 percent were males, 43 percent were 

females, and 11 percent were gender-unknown. 

From 2014 to 2015, the number of nonimmigrant admissions aged 18 to 24 years recorded 

the highest increase of 3.6 percent, while the 

age group 35 to 44 years old registered the lowest increase of 1.0 percent (see Table 5). 

 
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, and 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

GMT Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program – temporary visitors for pleasure to Guam or Northern Mariana Islands

Table continued on next page.
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

GMB Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program – 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.