Morocco ranked third among Arab countries in receiving U.S. immigration visas in 2022, according to a U.S. State Department report.
In total, the Kingdom’s nationals were granted 4,065 immigrant visas, less than Yemenis (5,222) and Egyptians (5,293).
In addition, the report indicates that 2,554 of the visas granted to Moroccan nationals were under the Diversity Visa (DV) program, which is dedicated to countries with low immigration rates to the United States.
More than 700 visas issued to Moroccans were granted to close relatives and 673 were granted under the Family Preference Program, which issues visas for “specific, more distant family relationships with a U.S. citizen and certain specified relationships with a lawful permanent resident (LPR).”
According to the same report, there has been a steady increase in the number of visas granted to Moroccan immigrants over the past 10 years. Their number first increased from 1,500 in 2012 to over 2,000 in 2016 before slowing down between 2017 and 2018 from 1,100 to 1,300.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused another significant decline in 2020 as travel restrictions impacted global migration.
In 2020, only 900 visas were issued to Moroccan nationals.
