In a May 15 presidential decree, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev directed his government “to dramatically increase the flow of tourists,” setting out 2025 targets and outlining new efforts to open the country to travelers from abroad. Mirziyoyev also instructed the Uzbek Foreign Ministry to start negotiations with the United States with the aim of introducing a visa-free entry regime. That effort, the decree made clear, is to be paired with an easing of visa requirements for Uzbek citizens seeking to enter the United States.
When pursuing various visas, Uzbeks face high rejection rates. According to the U.S. State Department, in fiscal year 2024, 64.41 percent of all Uzbek B-visa applications (for business or tourism) were rejected. This is not the highest in the world (sorry Laos, which had a 82 percent rejection rate in FY24), but exceeds rejection rates for neighboring Kazakhstan (46.29 percent), Kyrgyzstan (39.14 percent), Tajikistan (45.24 percent), or even Turkmenistan (58.80 percent).
An Uzbek friend once remarked to me that trying to get to the United States is akin to a national sport for Uzbeks. It was a quip backed by data.
Beyond travel for tourism or business, Uzbeks are regularly among the top pools of applicants to the U.S. “green card lottery” – the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) program – demonstrating sustained interest in moving to the United States. In the 2019-2021 period, the last for which complete data is currently available, nearly 4 million Uzbeks filed applications (“entrants” in the lottery), with an additional 2.3 million listed in the applications (“derivatives,” spouses and children). This is despite the cratering of applications amid the COVID-19 pandemic (which shows up in the 2021 numbers) and does not include those Uzbek citizens who may have believed they applied but were scammed.
Interest is extremely high, higher than almost anywhere else in the world. For comparison, in 2019 – arguably the last “normal” year before the pandemic – there were 1.8 million primary Uzbek applicants, representing 12 percent of the entire pool of more than 14 million applicants. The only country in the world that comes close is Ghana, which in 2019 saw just over 2 million primary DV applicants.
Rejections far exceed the visas made available. In 2019, of the 1.8 million primary Uzbek applicants, just 3,461 were awarded visas.
While Tashkent is certainly not aiming to export Uzbeks to the United States on a permanent basis, it’s clear from the recent presidential decree that Mirziyoyev hopes to make it easier for Uzbeks to visit the U.S. for business and tourism purposes. At least his government wants to try.
Uzbek authorities have been cooperative with U.S. efforts to deport illegal Uzbek immigrants. In April, the Uzbek government reportedly fully funded the deportation of more than 130 illegal Uzbek immigrants from the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was effusive in its praise: “This operation, in which Uzbekistan fully funded the deportation of their own nationals, underscores the deep security cooperation between our nations and sets a standard for U.S. alliances.” (Emphasis added: The U.S. and Uzbekistan do not have an alliance.)
At present, U.S. citizens seeking to visit Uzbekistan for tourism purposes must obtain a visa, with most applicants eligible for a $20 e-visa. In 2021, Uzbekistan introduced a limited visa-free regime for U.S. citizens over the age of 55.
Uzbek citizens, as noted above, face a much greater mountain to obtain a visa to come to the United States.
The recent presidential decree sets out new targets for tourism entries: 15.8 million foreign tourists and $4 billion in tourism services. Mirziyoyev also set a target of 40 million local tourists, illustrating an effort to increase tourism within Uzbekistan alongside drawing in foreign tourists.
Starting in June, individuals from Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman will be able to enter Uzbekistan for a period of up to 30 days without a visa for tourism.
The decree instructed the Foreign Ministry to engaged in negotiations within three months and report back regarding two important lines of effort. The first is the possible introduction of a new entry regime for citizens of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan using internal documents (ID cards) in lieu of passports. For Kazakhstanis in particular, this could be critical in increasing regional tourism. In 2023, Kyrgyz citizens became eligible to travel to Uzbekistan with an ID card.
The second line of effort laid out in the decree for the Foreign Ministry is feeling out the possibility of introducing a 30-day visa-free regime for U.S. citizens, “as well as on the easing of visa requirements for entry of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan into the territory of the United States of America.”
Whether Uzbekistan will be successful in seeking an easing of visa requirements is uncertain. Other Central Asia countries have introduced visa-free regimes for U.S. citizens – Kyrgyzstan (60 days) and Kazakhstan (30 days) – but there has not been a comparable easing of entry requirements into the United States for the citizens of those countries.
Given the avowedly anti-immigrant bent of the Trump administration, it’s hard to fathom a dramatic easing of requirements for Uzbeks, but these days, it seems anything is possible.