Shawdesh desk:

A total of 59,254 Bangladeshi citizens were granted permission or visas to travel to the United States from October of the previous year to September of this year.

Out of these individuals, 44,674 have received non-immigrant visas, which are typically granted for various purposes like education, tourism, and business travel.

Meanwhile, 14,580 people have got immigrant visas to live permanently in the United States.

Over the course of a decade, from 2013 to 2022, Bangladesh has received a total of 225,715 non-immigrant visas from the United States. Additionally, the US Embassy in Dhaka has issued 114,460 immigrant visas during this same period.

During the last decade, the highest number of US visas given to Bangladeshis was in 2014, which coincided with the national election.

In that year, 46,923 visas were issued, with 35,025 being non-immigrant visas and 11,898 immigrant visas.

In 2013, before the election, 38,648 people got visas from Bangladesh to the United States.

Among them, 28,080 were for short visits (non-immigrant visas), and 10,568 were for permanent residence (immigrant visas).

However, in the three years after the 10th parliamentary election, visa numbers from Dhaka declined. It was 27,265 in 2017, including 12,766 immigrant visas and 14,599 non-immigrant visas.

In 2018, during the 11th national election in Bangladesh, the visa count rose to over 38,000 again. This included 15,179 immigrant visas and 23,250 non-immigrant visas.

In 2019, the year after the election, non-immigrant visas increased to 30,505, but immigrant visas decreased to 12,573, making a total of 43,078 visas issued.

Visa numbers hit a 10-year low in 2020 due to the pandemic. That year, 12,039 non-immigrant visas were issued, and immigrant visas dropped to 6,162.

In 2021, non-immigrant visas slightly increased to 13,764, but immigrant visas decreased to 5,311, resulting in a total of 19,075 visas issued.

After the pandemic, in 2022, the US Embassy in Dhaka issued 38,276 visas. Among them, 29,202 were non-immigrant visas, and 9,074 were immigrant visas.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam has described the rising number of Bangladeshis visiting the US as a positive development.

He pointed out that despite a decline during the COVID-19 period, data from the past five years, up to August of this year, indicates a higher number of Bangladeshi visitors than any previous period.

“We are taking steps to facilitate overseas travel,“ Shahriar said, adding that the rise in travel is driven by increased capacity of people and a growing demand for education and business opportunities, and he believes this trend will continue.