Even before the pandemic, green cards issued abroad had declined 25% under Trump compared with the final year of the Obama administration: Annual number of immigrant visas issued at foreign service posts, fiscal years 2015–2020
| Date | Number of immigrant visas issued abroad |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 531,463 |
| 2016 | 617,752 |
| 2017 | 559,536 |
| 2018 | 533,557 |
| 2019 | 462,422 |
| 2020 | 250,446 |
Notes: All references to a particular year should be understood to mean the U.S. government’s fiscal year (October 1–September 30). Fiscal year 2020 includes visa issuance reduction caused by the closure and slowdown of U.S. consulates abroad and the June 2020 presidential proclamation suspending the issuance of certain immigrant visa preference categories.
Source: Author’s analysis of U.S. Department of State, “Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visas Issued at Foreign Service Posts: Fiscal Years 2015–2019,” in Report of the Visa Office 2019, Fiscal Year 2019; and “Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuance Statistics,” Fiscal Year 2020, Bureau of Consular Affairs.