Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia top MidEast recipients of US visas in 2022

Salim A. Essaid

May 2, 2023

A sign directs pedestrians towards the United States on January 16, 2019 in Tijuana, Mexico. Thousands of people from Mexico and Central America, many who arrived in caravans, hope to cross the border daily into America. The U.S. government is partially shut down as President Trump is asking for $5.7 billion to build additional walls along the U.S.-Mexico border and the Democrats oppose the idea. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) — A sign directs pedestrians towards the United States on January 16, 2019 in Tijuana, Mexico. — Spencer Platt/Getty Images

DUBAI — Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia received the most non-immigrant visas to the United States in the Middle East in 2022. The US State Department's annual report released on Saturday, registered 29 visa types ranging from visiting athletes, tourists and doctors to victims of human trafficking and people transiting through.

What happened: Saudi Arabian citizens were granted 52,775 non-immigrant visas in 2022, making theirs the Arab country to receive the most visas of that kind last year.

Israel and Turkey, the only non-Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region aside from Iran, ranked higher than Saudi Arabia with 141,032 and 72,178 visas, respectively.

Here are the top 10 Middle East and North Africa countries in non-immigrant US visas in 2022: