G4 visa symbol meaning.

What G4 means in 22 CFR 41.12

Section 41.12 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations is titled “Classification symbols”. It opens: “A nonimmigrant visa issued to an applicant within one of the classes described in this section shall bear an appropriate visa symbol to show its classification. The symbol shall be inserted in the space provided on the visa.” Table 1 to that section then lists each symbol with its class and the section of law. The row for G4 is:

The statute behind the symbol

The “section of law” column points to the Immigration and Nationality Act as codified at 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15), the definition of “immigrant”, which lists the classes of nonimmigrant aliens by letter. The definition begins: “The term “immigrant” means every alien except an alien who is within one of the following classes of nonimmigrant aliens”. G4 is in the group below.

Clause (i) of subparagraph (G) defines the international organizations that the later clauses refer to as “such international organizations”:

“a designated principal resident representative of a foreign government recognized de jure by the United States, which foreign government is a member of an international organization entitled to enjoy privileges, exemptions, and immunities as an international organization under the International Organizations Immunities Act (59 Stat. 669) [22 U.S.C. 288 et seq.], accredited resident members of the staff of such representatives, and members of his or their immediate family;”

Source: 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15), INA 101(a)(15)(G)(i)

Clause (iv), the one the G4 row cites, reads:

“officers, or employees of such international organizations, and the members of their immediate families;”

Source: 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15), INA 101(a)(15)(G)(iv)

Reading the G4 row against its neighbours

The G family has five rows, each citing one clause of INA 101(a)(15)(G). G1 is Principal Resident Representative of Recognized Foreign Government to International Organization, Staff, or Immediate Family (clause (i)). G2 is Other Representative of Recognized Foreign Member Government (clause (ii)). G3 is Representative of Non-recognized or Nonmember Foreign Government (clause (iii)). G4 is International Organization Officer or Employee, or Immediate Family (clause (iv)). G5 is Attendant, Servant, or Personal Employee of G1 through G4, or Immediate Family (clause (v)).

G4 is the row for the organization’s own people, as opposed to the representatives of governments, who are G1 to G3. Clause (iv) is very short, and the words “such international organizations” depend on clause (i), which describes an international organization “entitled to enjoy privileges, exemptions, and immunities as an international organization under the International Organizations Immunities Act”. Both clauses are quoted below.

The table does not list the organizations, or say how an organization qualifies. Those questions are not answered by the symbol.

What this page does not tell you

A visa symbol is a label. Table 1 says what each class is called and where the classification comes from in law. It says nothing about who qualifies, what evidence is needed, how long anyone may stay, whether work is allowed or what an application costs. Those answers sit in other regulations and in agency guidance and they change, so use the lookup above to read the label and then take the question to the State Department’s visa pages (travel.state.gov, which blocked automated reading on November 2, 2026, so we have not cited its contents) or a licensed immigration attorney.

For other codes seen on immigration paperwork, see the EAD category code lookup, which covers a different code set, and the I-94 number format checker.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 22 CFR 41.12 Classification symbols, Table 1 (current text; last amended 2023-09-12 per the eCFR version history) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR renderer API, the same section as machine-readable text (read November 2, 2026)
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: 8 U.S.C. 1101, definitions, subsection (a)(15) (read November 2, 2026)