Visa Bulletin
Editor: Bob Kraft
Profession: Attorney at Law
Category: Visa Bulletin
The Department of State (DOS) issues a visa bulletin each month and allocates a certain number of immigrant visas according to preference categories. The Visa Bulletin for May is available at http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4454.html
There are no visas available in the Employment Third and Third preference “other worker” categories the month of May. Visa availability will resume in October, the first month of the new fiscal year. More information is available at the DOS Web site www.travel.state.gov
Category: Visa Bulletin
The U.S. Department of State has released the July 2008 Visa Bulletin. Just click the link to view the bulletin.
Category: Visa Bulletin
The government has released the May 2008 Visa Bulletin, and there are some bits of good news in it.
EB2 categories for Mexico and for the Philippines are still current (we always worry about backsliding). India's cutoff date advanced a month, as did the date for China, to January 1, 2004. All things considered, the bulletin was a good one this time.
Category: Visa Bulletin
The March 2008 Visa Bulletin is available at the State Department, but still shows no availability of visas for employment-based second-preference for citizens of India.
Category: Visa Bulletin
From the February 2008 Visa Bulletin comes this sad and disappointing notice:
INDIA EMPLOYMENT SECOND PREFERENCE HAS BECOME "UNAVAILABLE"
Despite two retrogressions of the India Employment Second preference cut-off date, demand for numbers by CIS Offices for adjustment of status cases has remained extremely high in recent months. As a result the annual limit for the India Employment Second preference category has been reached, and the category has become "unavailable" effective immediately.
Category: Visa Bulletin
The New York Times has devoted their lead editorial to the ridiculous and scandalous situation regarding the July Visa Bulletin. Here is the editorial:
Immigration Malpractice
The prickliness and glacial ineptitude of the immigration system is old news to millions of would-be Americans. Immigrants who play by the rules know that the rules are stringent, arbitrary, expensive and very time-consuming. But even the most seasoned citizens-in-waiting were stunned by the nasty bait-and-switch the federal bureaucracy pulled on them this month. After encouraging thousands of highly skilled workers to apply for green cards, the government snatched the opportunity away.
The tease came in a bulletin issued by the State Department in June announcing that green cards for a wide range of skilled workers would be available to those who filed by July 2. That prompted untold numbers of doctors, medical technicians and other professionals, many of whom have lived here with their families for years, to assemble little mountains of paper. They got certified records and sponsorship documents, paid for medical exams and lawyers and sent their applications in. Many canceled vacations to be in the United States when their applications arrived, as the law requires.
Then they learned that the hope was effectively a hoax. The State Department had issued the bulletin to prod Citizenship and Immigration Services, the bureaucracy that handles immigration applications, to get cracking on processing them. The agency is notorious for fainting over paperwork -- 182,694 green cards have been squandered since 2000 because it did not process them in time. That bureaucratic travesty is a tragedy, since the annual supply of green cards is capped by law, and the demand chronically outstrips supply. The State Department said it put out the bulletin to ensure that every available green card would be used this time.
After working through the weekend, the citizenship agency processed tens of thousands of applications. On Monday, the State Department announced that all 140,000 employment-based green cards had been used and no applications would be accepted.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, the definition of a hangdog bureaucracy, says the law forbids it to accept the applications. The American Immigration Lawyers Association says this interpretation is rubbish. It is preparing a class-action lawsuit to compel the bureaucracy to accept the application wave that it provoked.
The good news is that immigrants' hope is pretty much unquenchable. Think of the hundreds of people standing in the rain in ponchos at Walt Disney World on Independence Day, joining the flood of new citizens now cresting across the country. They celebrated on July Fourth, but for many of them the magic date is July 30, when a new fee schedule for immigrants takes effect, drastically jacking up the cost of the American dream.
The collapse of immigration reform in the Senate showed the world what America thinks of illegal immigrants -- it wants them all to go away. But the federal government, through bureaucratic malpractice, is sending the same message to millions of legal immigrants, too.
Category: Visa Bulletin
The scandal/confusion regarding the latest Visa Bulletin has found its way into the New York Times today. Here are excerpts from the article:
Immigration lawyers raised unusually irate protests yesterday after the State Department and the immigration service abruptly withdrew tens of thousands of job-based visas they had offered last month to foreign professionals hoping to become permanent residents in the United States.
The outcry was provoked by a terse announcement on Monday in which the State Department said it would not grant any more visas for the 2007 fiscal year to foreigners applying to become permanent residents based on their job skills. That notice reversed one the department had issued on June 13 announcing a two-month window starting July 2 for aspiring, high-skilled immigrants from around the world to present applications for visas known as green cards.
The State Department said the 60,000 visas it had expected to offer would no longer be available because of "sudden backlog reduction efforts" by Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency that processes applications for the visas offered by the department.
In a statement yesterday, the American Immigration Lawyers Association accused the two agencies of perpetrating a "hoax" and a "bait and switch" against hopeful legal immigrants who played by the book.
To apply, immigrants must undergo medical examinations and assemble documents to prove their job skills and show that a United States employer has sponsored them. Foreigners must be in the United States when they present their applications, which are processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Because of backlogs for employment-based visas, foreigners have had to wait many years just to be allowed to file their applications.
Thousands of medical and technology professionals, including many working here on temporary visas, scrambled for weeks to get their documents together, in some cases canceling travel plans, in order to file their applications on Monday, the first day of the window. The State Department and the immigration agency closed the window without accepting a single application.
"I am concerned that such action may violate the law and could threaten the integrity of our immigration system," Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California who is chairwoman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, wrote in letters yesterday to Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security, and Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state. Ms. Lofgren warned that the federal government could face costly litigation because of its change of course.
The State Department said it would begin accepting applications on Oct. 1 for 2008 visas. On July 30, the immigration agency will raise its processing fees by an average of 66 percent.
Category: Visa Bulletin
The scandal/confusion regarding the latest Visa Bulletin has found its way into the New York Times today. Here are excerpts from the article:
Immigration lawyers raised unusually irate protests yesterday after the State Department and the immigration service abruptly withdrew tens of thousands of job-based visas they had offered last month to foreign professionals hoping to become permanent residents in the United States.
The outcry was provoked by a terse announcement on Monday in which the State Department said it would not grant any more visas for the 2007 fiscal year to foreigners applying to become permanent residents based on their job skills. That notice reversed one the department had issued on June 13 announcing a two-month window starting July 2 for aspiring, high-skilled immigrants from around the world to present applications for visas known as green cards.
The State Department said the 60,000 visas it had expected to offer would no longer be available because of "sudden backlog reduction efforts" by Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency that processes applications for the visas offered by the department.
In a statement yesterday, the American Immigration Lawyers Association accused the two agencies of perpetrating a "hoax" and a "bait and switch" against hopeful legal immigrants who played by the book.
To apply, immigrants must undergo medical examinations and assemble documents to prove their job skills and show that a United States employer has sponsored them. Foreigners must be in the United States when they present their applications, which are processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Because of backlogs for employment-based visas, foreigners have had to wait many years just to be allowed to file their applications.
Thousands of medical and technology professionals, including many working here on temporary visas, scrambled for weeks to get their documents together, in some cases canceling travel plans, in order to file their applications on Monday, the first day of the window. The State Department and the immigration agency closed the window without accepting a single application.
"I am concerned that such action may violate the law and could threaten the integrity of our immigration system," Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California who is chairwoman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, wrote in letters yesterday to Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security, and Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state. Ms. Lofgren warned that the federal government could face costly litigation because of its change of course.
The State Department said it would begin accepting applications on Oct. 1 for 2008 visas. On July 30, the immigration agency will raise its processing fees by an average of 66 percent.
Category: Visa Bulletin
Just a few weeks ago there was good news for all those who have been waiting for their priority date to become current in an employment-based immigration category. The Department of State announced in June that the July 2007 visa availability bulletin would show that all employment preference categories (except for Third "Other Workers" ) had been made "Current" for July. That meant that as of July 1, 2007, anyone who had been waiting to file an I-485 Application for Permanent Residency could do so.
In a stunning announcement yesterday, the Department of State revised the July visa bulletin to reflect that ALL available employment-based visas had been allocated for the fiscal year 2007. As a result, beginning yesterday, Immigration Services is rejecting applications to adjust status filed by aliens whose priority dates are not current under the revised July visa bulletin. This also means that it is highly unlikely that visas will be available until the start of the new fiscal year which begins on October 1, 2007.
For those who filed their I-140 Petitions and I-485 Applications concurrently, and enclosed separate filing fee checks, the I-140 and supporting documents will be accepted by Immigration Services for processing and the I-485 and supporting documents and applications will be rejected and returned to the applicant with the filing fee checks. All I-485 Applications filed (even those received by Immigration Services on Monday July 2, 2007, before the revised visa bulletin was issued) WILL be rejected. Filing fee checks will be returned.
There has been a lot of speculation by several immigration attorneys and immigration rights groups in regards to filing a federal lawsuit against Immigration Services. With proof of delivery, proof of rejection by Immigration Services, and evidence that a complete application was submitted to Immigration Services in hand, many lawyers will recommend to their clients that they be plaintiffs in a lawsuit that will probably be filed by the American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF). Those who were arguably entitled to file their I-485 applications (per the first July visa bulletin) but failed to do so, may not be eligible for a remedy. AILF's Legal Action Center is preparing to litigate. Plaintiffs and class members whose applications were rejected or returned would have the strongest legal claims and have the strongest claims to benefit from a favorable result.
Category: Visa Bulletin
We have some great news for all those who has been waiting for their priority date to become current in an employment-based immigration category. The July 2007 visa availability bulletin, which was released yesterday shows that all employment preference categories (except for Third "Other Workers" ) have been made "Current" for July. This means that as of July 1, 2007, everyone who has been waiting to file their I-485 Application for Permanent Residency can do so.
There has been a lot of speculation regarding this unexpected change in the visa availability bulletin. Many feel that this has been done in an effort to generate increased demand by Immigration Services for adjustment of status cases, and to maximize number use under the annual numerical limit.
Even though the employment categories are now current, that does not mean that they will remain this way. There is the possibility that not all Employment preferences will remain 'Current" for the remainder of the fiscal year. Should the rate of demand for numbers be very heavy in the coming months, it could become necessary to retrogress some cut-off dates for September, most likely for China-mainland born and India, but also possibly for Mexico and Philippines. Several governmental organizations and officials believe the numbers will retrogress severely by 2008.
If you have a priority date that is now current, please contact us immediately to begin your adjustment of status application. You cannot afford to waste any time as there is no guarantee as to how long your priority date will remain current.
Here is the June 2007 Visa Bulletin:
VISA BULLETIN FOR JUNE 2007
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS:
1. This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during June. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand received by May 11th in the chronological order of the reported priority dates. If the demand could not be satisfied within the statutory or regulatory limits, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The cut-off date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. Only applicants who have a priority date earlier than the cut-off date may be allotted a number. Immediately that it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to retrogress a cut-off date, supplemental requests for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new cut-off date. 2. Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets an annual minimum family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000. Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320.
3. Section 203 of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of immigrant visas as follows:
FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First : Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.
Second : Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, and any unused first preference numbers:
A. Spouses and Children: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
B. Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older): 23% of the overall second preference limitation.
Third : Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.
Fourth : Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.
EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
First : Priority Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.
Second : Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.
Third : Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to "Other Workers".
Fourth : Certain Special Immigrants: 7.1% of the worldwide level.
Fifth : Employment Creation: 7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of P.L. 102-395.
4. INA Section 203(e) provides that family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas be issued to eligible immigrants in the order in which a petition in behalf of each has been filed. Section 203(d) provides that spouses and children of preference immigrants are entitled to the same status, and the same order of consideration, if accompanying or following to join the principal. The visa prorating provisions of Section 202(e) apply to allocations for a foreign state or dependent area when visa demand exceeds the per-country limit. These provisions apply at present to the following oversubscribed chargeability areas: CHINA-mainland born, INDIA, MEXICO, and PHILIPPINES.
5. On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); "C" means current, i.e., numbers are available for all qualified applicants; and "U" means unavailable, i.e., no numbers are available. (NOTE: Numbers are available only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below.)
| Fam-ily |
All Charge- ability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA-mainland born |
INDIA |
MEXICO |
PHILIPP-INES |
| 1st |
01JUN01 |
01JUN01 |
01JUN01 |
01JAN91 |
22APR92 |
| 2A |
22APR02 |
22APR02 |
22APR02 |
01MAY01 |
22APR02 |
| 2B |
01DEC97 |
01DEC97 |
01DEC97 |
08MAR92 |
01OCT96 |
| 3rd |
15MAY99 |
15MAY99 |
15MAY99 |
08FEB88 |
01JAN85 |
| 4th |
08JUN96 |
08JAN96 |
22JAN96 |
15JUL94 |
01MAR85 |
*NOTE: For June, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 01MAY01. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 01MAY01 and earlier than 22APR02. (All 2A numbers provided for MEXICO are exempt from the per-country limit; there are no 2A numbers for MEXICO subject to per-country limit.)
|
All
Charge-ability
Areas
Except
Those
Listed |
CHINA-
mainland born |
INDIA |
MEXICO |
PHILIP-PINES |
Employ-ment
-Based |
|
|
|
|
|
| 1st |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
| 2nd |
C |
01JAN06 |
01APR04 |
C |
C |
| 3rd |
01JUN05 |
01JUN03 |
01JUN03 |
01JUN03 |
01JUN05 |
Other
Workers |
01OCT01 |
01OCT01 |
01OCT01 |
01OCT01 |
01OCT01 |
| 4th |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
| Certain Religious Workers |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
| Iraqi & Afghani Translators |
18SEP06 |
18SEP06 |
18SEP06 |
18SEP06 |
18SEP06 |
| 5th |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
Targeted Employ-ment Areas/
Regional Centers |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
The Department of State has available a recorded message with visa availability information which can be heard at: (area code 202) 663-1541. This recording will be updated in the middle of each month with information on cut-off dates for the following month.
Employment Third Preference Other Workers Category: Section 203(e) of the NACARA, as amended by Section 1(e) of Pub. L. 105 - 139, provides that once the Employment Third Preference Other Worker (EW) cut-off date has reached the priority date of the latest EW petition approved prior to November 19, 1997, the 10,000 EW numbers available for a fiscal year are to be reduced by up to 5,000 annually beginning in the following fiscal year. This reduction is to be made for as long as necessary to offset adjustments under the NACARA program. Since the EW cut-off date reached November 19, 1997 during Fiscal Year 2001, the reduction in the EW annual limit to 5,000 began in Fiscal Year 2002.
B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY
Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides a maximum of up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to permit immigration opportunities for persons from countries other than the principal sources of current immigration to the United States. The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that beginning with DV-99, and for as long as necessary, up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NACARA program. This reduction has resulted in the DV-2007 annual limit being reduced to 50,000. DV visas are divided among six geographic regions. No one country can receive more than seven percent of the available diversity visas in any one year.
For June, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2007 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately | |
|---|
| AFRICA |
27,000 |
Except:
Egypt:
21,800
Ethiopia:
18,900
Nigeria:
14,600 |
| ASIA |
6,800 |
|
| EUROPE |
19,000 |
Except:
Ukraine
11,850 |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) |
7 |
|
| OCEANIA |
1,100 |
|
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN |
1,750 |
|
Entitlement to immigrant status in the DV category lasts only through the end of the fiscal (visa) year for which the applicant is selected in the lottery. The year of entitlement for all applicants registered for the DV-2007 program ends as of September 30, 2007. DV visas may not be issued to DV-2007 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2007 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2007. DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2007 cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be exhausted prior to September 30.
C. ADVANCE NOTIFICATION OF THE DIVERSITY (DV) IMMIGRANT CATEGORY RANK CUT-OFFS WHICH WILL APPLY IN JULY
For July, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2007 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately | |
|---|
| AFRICA |
35,500 |
Except:
Egypt:
22,600
Ethiopia 22,900
Nigeria 16,150 |
| ASIA |
7,750 |
|
| EUROPE |
23,000 |
Except:
Ukraine 13,000 |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) |
12 |
|
| OCEANIA |
1,800 |
|
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN |
2,500 |
|
D. EMPLOYMENT THIRD PREFERENCE "OTHER WORKER" CATEGORY FOR JUNE
A few "Other Worker" numbers which had been allocated for April were returned unused at the end of the month. As a result, a very small June allocation has been possible, for applicants with priority dates before October 1, 2001. The category will become "Unavailable" once again beginning in July and will remain so for the remainder of FY-2007.
E. EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA AVAILABILITY DURING THE COMING MONTHS
The current level of demand in many of the Employment-based categories has been much lower than anticipated. As a result, the June cut-off dates have been advanced significantly in an effort to maximize number use under the annual numerical limits. At this time it appears likely that there will be additional advances during the coming months.
All readers should be aware that such cut-off date movements should allow for action to be finalized on a significant number of Citizenship and Immigration Services adjustment of status cases. Once that level of demand begins to exceed the supply of available numbers it will be necessary to make "adjustments" to the cut-off dates. At this time is in not possible to estimate when this is likely to occur, but it is expected.
Category: Visa Bulletin
Visa Bulletin
Number 106
Volume VIII
Washington, D.C.
VISA BULLETIN FOR JUNE 2007
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS:
1. This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during June. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand received by May 11th in the chronological order of the reported priority dates. If the demand could not be satisfied within the statutory or regulatory limits, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The cut-off date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. Only applicants who have a priority date earlier than the cut-off date may be allotted a number. Immediately that it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to retrogress a cut-off date, supplemental requests for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new cut-off date. 2. Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets an annual minimum family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000. Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320.
3. Section 203 of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of immigrant visas as follows:
FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First : Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.
Second : Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, and any unused first preference numbers:
A. Spouses and Children: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
B. Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older): 23% of the overall second preference limitation.
Third : Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.
Fourth : Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.
EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
First : Priority Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.
Second : Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.
Third : Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to "Other Workers".
Fourth : Certain Special Immigrants: 7.1% of the worldwide level.
Fifth : Employment Creation: 7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of P.L. 102-395.
4. INA Section 203(e) provides that family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas be issued to eligible immigrants in the order in which a petition in behalf of each has been filed. Section 203(d) provides that spouses and children of preference immigrants are entitled to the same status, and the same order of consideration, if accompanying or following to join the principal. The visa prorating provisions of Section 202(e) apply to allocations for a foreign state or dependent area when visa demand exceeds the per-country limit. These provisions apply at present to the following oversubscribed chargeability areas: CHINA-mainland born, INDIA, MEXICO, and PHILIPPINES.
5. On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); "C" means current, i.e., numbers are available for all qualified applicants; and "U" means unavailable, i.e., no numbers are available. (NOTE: Numbers are available only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below.)
| Fam-ily |
All Charge- ability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA-mainland born |
INDIA |
MEXICO |
PHILIPP-INES |
| 1st |
01JUN01 |
01JUN01 |
01JUN01 |
01JAN91 |
22APR92 |
| 2A |
22APR02 |
22APR02 |
22APR02 |
01MAY01 |
22APR02 |
| 2B |
01DEC97 |
01DEC97 |
01DEC97 |
08MAR92 |
01OCT96 |
| 3rd |
15MAY99 |
15MAY99 |
15MAY99 |
08FEB88 |
01JAN85 |
| 4th |
08JUN96 |
08JAN96 |
22JAN96 |
15JUL94 |
01MAR85 |
*NOTE: For June, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 01MAY01. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 01MAY01 and earlier than 22APR02. (All 2A numbers provided for MEXICO are exempt from the per-country limit; there are no 2A numbers for MEXICO subject to per-country limit.)
|
All
Charge-ability
Areas
Except
Those
Listed |
CHINA-
mainland born |
INDIA |
MEXICO |
PHILIP-PINES |
Employ-ment
-Based |
|
|
|
|
|
| 1st |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
| 2nd |
C |
01JAN06 |
01APR04 |
C |
C |
| 3rd |
01JUN05 |
01JUN03 |
01JUN03 |
01JUN03 |
01JUN05 |
Other
Workers |
01OCT01 |
01OCT01 |
01OCT01 |
01OCT01 |
01OCT01 |
| 4th |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
| Certain Religious Workers |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
| Iraqi & Afghani Translators |
18SEP06 |
18SEP06 |
18SEP06 |
18SEP06 |
18SEP06 |
| 5th |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
Targeted Employ-ment Areas/
Regional Centers |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
The Department of State has available a recorded message with visa availability information which can be heard at: (area code 202) 663-1541. This recording will be updated in the middle of each month with information on cut-off dates for the following month.
Employment Third Preference Other Workers Category: Section 203(e) of the NACARA, as amended by Section 1(e) of Pub. L. 105 - 139, provides that once the Employment Third Preference Other Worker (EW) cut-off date has reached the priority date of the latest EW petition approved prior to November 19, 1997, the 10,000 EW numbers available for a fiscal year are to be reduced by up to 5,000 annually beginning in the following fiscal year. This reduction is to be made for as long as necessary to offset adjustments under the NACARA program. Since the EW cut-off date reached November 19, 1997 during Fiscal Year 2001, the reduction in the EW annual limit to 5,000 began in Fiscal Year 2002.
B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY
Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides a maximum of up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to permit immigration opportunities for persons from countries other than the principal sources of current immigration to the United States. The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that beginning with DV-99, and for as long as necessary, up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NACARA program. This reduction has resulted in the DV-2007 annual limit being reduced to 50,000. DV visas are divided among six geographic regions. No one country can receive more than seven percent of the available diversity visas in any one year.
For June, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2007 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately | |
|---|
| AFRICA |
27,000 |
Except:
Egypt:
21,800
Ethiopia:
18,900
Nigeria:
14,600 |
| ASIA |
6,800 |
|
| EUROPE |
19,000 |
Except:
Ukraine
11,850 |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) |
7 |
|
| OCEANIA |
1,100 |
|
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN |
1,750 |
|
Entitlement to immigrant status in the DV category lasts only through the end of the fiscal (visa) year for which the applicant is selected in the lottery. The year of entitlement for all applicants registered for the DV-2007 program ends as of September 30, 2007. DV visas may not be issued to DV-2007 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2007 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2007. DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2007 cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be exhausted prior to September 30.
C. ADVANCE NOTIFICATION OF THE DIVERSITY (DV) IMMIGRANT CATEGORY RANK CUT-OFFS WHICH WILL APPLY IN JULY
For July, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2007 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately | |
|---|
| AFRICA |
35,500 |
Except:
Egypt:
22,600
Ethiopia 22,900
Nigeria 16,150 |
| ASIA |
7,750 |
|
| EUROPE |
23,000 |
Except:
Ukraine 13,000 |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) |
12 |
|
| OCEANIA |
1,800 |
|
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN |
2,500 |
|
D. EMPLOYMENT THIRD PREFERENCE "OTHER WORKER" CATEGORY FOR JUNE
A few "Other Worker" numbers which had been allocated for April were returned unused at the end of the month. As a result, a very small June allocation has been possible, for applicants with priority dates before October 1, 2001. The category will become "Unavailable" once again beginning in July and will remain so for the remainder of FY-2007.
E. EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA AVAILABILITY DURING THE COMING MONTHS
The current level of demand in many of the Employment-based categories has been much lower than anticipated. As a result, the June cut-off dates have been advanced significantly in an effort to maximize number use under the annual numerical limits. At this time it appears likely that there will be additional advances during the coming months.
All readers should be aware that such cut-off date movements should allow for action to be finalized on a significant number of Citizenship and Immigration Services adjustment of status cases. Once that level of demand begins to exceed the supply of available numbers it will be necessary to make "adjustments" to the cut-off dates. At this time is in not possible to estimate when this is likely to occur, but it is expected.
Category: Visa Bulletin
The U.S. Department of State has issued the Visa Bulletin for November. You can see the entire bulletin at the State Department Web site. We have copied important sections below:
On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); "C" means current, i.e., numbers are available for all qualified applicants; and "U" means unavailable, i.e., no numbers are available. (NOTE: Numbers are available only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below.)
| Family |
All Charge- ability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA-mainland born |
INDIA |
MEXICO |
PHILIPP-INES |
| 1st |
22APR01 |
22APR01 |
22APR01 |
01JUL93 |
15NOV91 |
| 2A |
01SEP01 |
01SEP01 |
01SEP01 |
01DEC99 |
01SEP01 |
| 2B |
01FEB97 |
01FEB97 |
01FEB97 |
22FEB92 |
15AUG96 |
| 3rd |
15NOV98 |
15NOV98 |
15NOV98 |
01JAN95 |
08FEB91 |
| 4th |
22OCT95 |
22APR95 |
01AUG95 |
22OCT93 |
01MAY84 |
*NOTE: For November, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 01DEC99. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 01DEC99 and earlier than 01SEP01. (All 2A numbers provided for MEXICO are exempt from the per-country limit; there are no 2A numbers for MEXICO subject to per-country limit.)
Employ-ment
-Based |
All
Charge-ability
Areas
Except
Those
Listed |
CHINA-
mainland born |
INDIA |
MEXICO |
PHILIP-PINES |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1st |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
| 2nd |
C |
15APR05 |
01JAN03 |
C |
C |
| 3rd |
01JUL02 |
01JUL02 |
22APR01 |
08MAY01 |
01JUL02 |
Schedule
A
Workers |
01OCT05 |
01OCT05 |
01OCT05 |
01OCT05 |
01OCT05 |
Other
Workers |
01MAY01 |
01MAY01 |
01MAY01 |
01MAY01 |
01MAY01 |
| 4th |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
| Certain Religious Workers |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
| 5th |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
Targeted Employ-ment Areas/
Regional Centers |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
The Department of State has available a recorded message with visa availability information which can be heard at: (area code 202) 663-1541. This recording will be updated in the middle of each month with information on cut-off dates for the following month.
Employment Third Preference Other Workers Category: Section 203(e) of the NACARA, as amended by Section 1(e) of Pub. L. 105 - 139, provides that once the Employment Third Preference Other Worker (EW) cut-off date has reached the priority date of the latest EW petition approved prior to November 19, 1997, the 10,000 EW numbers available for a fiscal year are to be reduced by up to 5,000 annually beginning in the following fiscal year. This reduction is to be made for as long as necessary to offset adjustments under the NACARA program. Since the EW cut-off date reached November 19, 1997 during Fiscal Year 2001, the reduction in the EW annual limit to 5,000 began in Fiscal Year 2002.
B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY
Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides a maximum of up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to permit immigration opportunities for persons from countries other than the principal sources of current immigration to the United States. The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that beginning with DV-99, and for as long as necessary, up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NACARA program. This reduction has resulted in the DV-2007 annual limit being reduced to 50,000. DV visas are divided among six geographic regions. No one country can receive more than seven percent of the available diversity visas in any one year.
For November, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2007 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately | |
|---|
| AFRICA |
8,500 |
Except:
Egypt
5,600
Ethiopia
5,600
Nigeria
4,300 |
| ASIA |
2,600 |
|
| EUROPE |
5,700 |
|
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) |
6 |
|
| OCEANIA |
280 |
|
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN |
350 |
|
Entitlement to immigrant status in the DV category lasts only through the end of the fiscal (visa) year for which the applicant is selected in the lottery. The year of entitlement for all applicants registered for the DV-2007 program ends as of September 30, 2007. DV visas may not be issued to DV-2007 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2007 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2007. DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2007 cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be exhausted prior to September 30.
