The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) establishes the circumstances under which foreign nationals may be admitted temporarily or come to live permanently. The INA provides for the admission of nonimmigrants for designated periods of time and a variety of specific purposes. Achieving an optimal balance among policy priorities—ensuring national security, facilitating trade and commerce, supporting fair labor practices, protecting public health and safety, and fostering international cooperation—remains a challenge. Admission of Nonimmigrants

The Department of State (DOS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Labor (DOL) each play key roles in administering the law and setting policies on the admission of nonimmigrants. A DOS consular officer (at the time of application for a visa) and a CBP immigration inspector (at the time of application for admission) must be satisfied that an alien is entitled to a nonimmigrant status. The burden of proof is on the applicant to establish eligibility for nonimmigrant status and the type of nonimmigrant visa for which the application is made. Nonimmigrants who remain in the United States past their lawful period of admission are known as overstays. Exclusion and Removal

			Inadmissibility

DOS consular officers (when the alien is applying abroad), CBP inspectors (when the alien is at a United States port of entry), and USCIS adjudicators (when the alien is applying for an extension or adjustment of status) must confirm that the alien is not ineligible for a visa under the "grounds for inadmissibility" found in §212(a) of the INA. A B-2 visa holder may not engage in any employment in the country. Many foreign nationals on J-1 visas are permitted to work as part of their cultural exchange program participation. These data enumerate arrivals, thus counting frequent travelers multiple times. Notably, Mexican nationals with border crossing cards and Canadian nationals traveling for business or tourist purposes are not required to fill out I-94 forms and are thus not reflected in CBP data tables. Analysis of Nonimmigrants by Visa Category

			Temporary Visas Issued45

In FY2016, DOS consular officers issued 10.4 million nonimmigrant visas, down from a peak of 10.9 million in FY2015. Temporary workers (including H visa holders, treaty traders and investors, intracompany transferees, and representatives of foreign media) received 8.5% of all nonimmigrant visas issued in FY2016, followed by students and exchange visitors with 4.9% and 3.7%, respectively (see Figure 1 ). Temporary Admissions46

During FY2015, CBP inspectors granted 181.3 million nonimmigrant admissions to the United States, according to DHS workload estimates. Analysis of Nonimmigrants by Region

			Temporary Visas Issued47

Visas issued to foreign nationals from Asia made up 45.3%, or 4.7 million, of the 10.4 million nonimmigrant visas issued in FY2016 (see Figure 7 ). South America accounted for 1.8 million of the nonimmigrant visa issuances. Eleven states and Guam were identified as the destination for 1 million or more nonimmigrant admissions each in FY2015. California and Florida were the top two destination states, with over 10 million admissions each (see Figure 11 ); over 90% of these admissions were tourists and business travelers (B visa holders). In FY2014, USCIS reported that there were 136,617 F-1 foreign students approved for OPT, up from 90,896 in FY2009. Delineating Current Law for Nonimmigrant Visas
U.S. law provides for the temporary admission of foreign nationals, who are known as nonimmigrants. Nonimmigrants are admitted for a designated period of time and a specific purpose. There are 24 major nonimmigrant visa categories, which are commonly referred to by the letter and numeral that denote their subsection in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA); for example, B-2 tourists, E-2 treaty investors, F-1 foreign students, H-1B temporary professional workers, J-1 cultural exchange participants, or S-5 law enforcement witnesses and informants.
A U.S. Department of State (DOS) consular officer (at the time of application for a visa) and a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector (at the time of application for admission) must be satisfied that an alien is entitled to nonimmigrant status. The burden of proof is on the applicant to establish eligibility for nonimmigrant status and the type of nonimmigrant visa for which the application is made. Both DOS consular officers (when the alien is applying for nonimmigrant status abroad) and DHS inspectors (when the alien is entering the United States) must also determine that the alien is not ineligible for a visa under the INA's "grounds for inadmissibility," which include criminal, terrorist, and public health grounds for exclusion.
In FY2016, DOS consular officers issued 10.4 million nonimmigrant visas, down from a peak of 10.9 million in FY2015. There were approximately 8 million tourism and business visas, which comprised more than three-quarters of all nonimmigrant visas issued in FY2016. Other notable groups were temporary workers (883,000, or 8.5%), students (513,000, or 4.9%), and cultural exchange visitors (380,000, or 3.7%). Visas issued to foreign nationals from Asia made up 45% of nonimmigrant visas issued in FY2016, followed by North America (20%), South America (17%), Europe (11%), and Africa (5%).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors approved 181.3 million temporary admissions of foreign nationals to the United States during FY2016. CBP data enumerate arrivals, thus counting frequent travelers multiple times. Mexican nationals with border crossing cards and Canadian nationals traveling for business or tourist purposes accounted for the vast majority of admissions, representing approximately 104.7 million entries in FY2016. In FY2015, California and Florida were the top two destination states for nonimmigrant visa holders, with each state being listed as the destination for more than 10 million nonimmigrant admissions. In addition, 10 other states and the territory of Guam were listed as the destination for more than 1 million nonimmigrant admissions each in that year.
Current law and regulations set terms for nonimmigrant lengths of stay in the United States, typically include foreign residency requirements, and often limit what aliens are permitted to do while in the country (e.g., engage in employment or enroll in school). Some observers assert that the law and regulations are not uniformly or rigorously enforced. Achieving an optimal balance among policy priorities, such as ensuring national security, facilitating trade and commerce, protecting public health and safety, and fostering international cooperation, remains a challenge.