A. STATUTORY NUMBERS
1. This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during February. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; the Immigration and Naturalization Service reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand received by January 8th 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.)
PREFERENCES All Charge- ability Areas CHINA- Except Those mainland Listed born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES Family 1st 15MAY96 15MAY96 15MAY96 15MAY93 03DEC86 2A* 08SEP93 08SEP93 08SEP93 08NOV92 08SEP93 2B 22JUL91 22JUL91 22JUL91 22MAY91 22JUL91 3rd 15AUG94 15AUG94 15AUG94 15MAR89 22SEP86 4th 01AUG87 01AUG87 01DEC85 08DEC86 30MAR78
*NOTE: For February, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 08NOV92. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 08NOV92 and earlier than 08SEP93. (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 CHINA-
Except Those mainland
Listed born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES
Employment-
Based
1st C 15MAY97 C C C
2nd C 08APR96 01JUN96 C C
3rd C 22JAN94 01APR95 C C
Other 01MAR91 01MAR91 01MAR91 01MAR91 01MAR91
Workers
4th C C C C C
Certain 22JUN97 22JUN97 22JUN97 22JUN97 22JUN97
Religious
Workers
5th C C C C C
Targeted C C C C C
Employment Areas/
Regional Centers
The Department of State has available a recorded message with visa availability information which can be heard at (202) 663-1541. This recording will be updated in the middle of each month with information on cut-off dates for the following month.
B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY
Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides 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. DV visas are divided among six geographic regions. Not more than 3,850 visas (7% of the 55,000 visa limit) may be provided to immigrants from any one country.
For February, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-98 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries on a “CURRENT” basis, except as listed below.
All DV Charge-
ability Areas
Except Those
Region Listed Separately
AFRICA CURRENT
ASIA AS 10,641 EXCEPT: BANGLADESH AS 5,620
EUROPE CURRENT EXCEPT: ALBANIA EU 9,291
NORTH AMERICA CURRENT
(BAHAMAS)
OCEANIA CURRENT
SOUTH AMERICA, CURRENT
CENTRAL AMERICA,
and the CARIBBEAN
(NOTE: It remains to be seen if applicant demand will increase sufficiently to require oversubscription of any other region/country in a subsequent month.)
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-98 program ends as of September 30, 1998. DV visas may not be issued to DV-98 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-98 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 1998. DV visa availability through the very end of FY-1998 cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be exhausted prior to September 30. Once all numbers provided by law for the DV-98 program have been used, no further issuances will be possible.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.