The US State Department has released the annual report for the year 2021 on the number of visas issued around the world. According to this report, 285,069 visas have been granted by the United States worldwide.
The total number of Moroccans who received a visa in 2021 was 3,585, of which 2,060 as first-degree relatives of American citizens, 1,113 for various immigration reasons, 362 for family reasons, 34 as immigrants and 16 for professional purposes.
On the world podium in the ranking of visas issued, Mexico, a southern neighbor of the USA, is in first position among countries with 40,597 sesames, followed by the Dominican Republic 17,941 and China 18,501.
At the African level, 35,776 American visas were granted to citizens of the various countries of the continent in 2021. The first place goes to Nigeria, with 4,990 visas obtained, followed by Morocco 3,585 visas and Cameroon 3,048.
At the level of countries in the North Africa and Middle East (MENA) region, the Kingdom also ranks second behind Yemen 4,770 visas ahead of Jordan 2,785, Egypt 2,230 and Algeria 1,922.
For Europe, 23,972 visas were granted by the USA during the year 2021. Ukraine comes first, with 3,019 visas granted, followed by Great Britain (1,897), Turkey (1,361 ) and Russia (1,154).
It is also said in the document of the American State Department, that the number of visas granted to Moroccans has experienced a remarkable evolution over the last ten years, going from 1,544 (2012) to 2,013 (2016), before declining to again in 2020 due to the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, hence several months of suspension, and finally going back up in 2021.
But in general, the number of visas granted by the United States of America has decreased considerably over the past ten years, from 235,616 in 2012 to 170,604 in 2020.
The U.S. Department further explained in its report, that “due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so-called routine visa services were suspended and only those related to exceptional or emergency cases remained operational, until the end of March 2020. This had a significant impact on services related to immigrant and non-immigrant visas ».
It should be noted that Morocco and the United States of America have strengthened their cooperation in several areas over the past two years, particularly after the American recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara, whether related to military, economic or diplomatic. Similarly, the United States opened a consulate general in the Moroccan city of Dakhla, after Washington recognized Morocco’s full sovereignty over its southern provinces.