US Immigration Blog

February 2012 Visa Bulletin | Immigration

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; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by January 6th. If not all demand could be satisfied, 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. If 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 announced in this bulletin.

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. 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.

4. Section 203(a) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Family-sponsored immigrant visas as follows:

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES

First: (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. 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, plus any unused first preference numbers:

A. (F2A) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;

B. (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents: 23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Third: (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth: (F4) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

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-Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	22DEC04	22DEC04	22DEC04	22APR93	22MAY97
F2A	08JUN09	08JUN09	08JUN09	08MAY09	08JUN09
F2B	15OCT03	15OCT03	15OCT03	01DEC92	01NOV01
F3	01DEC01	01DEC01	01DEC01	01JAN93	22JUL92
F4	08SEP00	08SEP00	08SEP00	15MAY96	01NOV88

*NOTE: For February, F2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 08MAY09. F2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 08MAY09 and earlier than 08JUN09. (All F2A numbers provided for MEXICO are exempt from the per-country limit; there are no F2A numbers for MEXICO subject to per-country limit.)

5. Section 203(b) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Employment-based immigrant visas as follows:

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 Pub. L. 102-395.

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.)

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01JAN10	01JAN10	C	C
3rd	22FEB06	01DEC04	15AUG02	22FEB06	22FEB06
Other Workers	22FEB06	22APR03	15AUG02	22FEB06	22FEB06
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

*Employment Third Preference Other Workers Category: Section 203(e) of the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997, 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.

6. The Department of State has a recorded message with visa availability information which can be heard at: (202) 663-1541. This recording is updated on or about the tenth of each month with information on cut-off dates for the following month.

B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY

Section 203(c) of the INA provides up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to permit additional immigration opportunities for persons from countries with low admissions during the previous five years. The NACARA 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 resulted in reduction of the DV-2012 annual limit 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 February, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2012 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	32,000	Except: Egypt  21,000 Ethiopia  21,500 Nigeria 16,000
ASIA	23,900
EUROPE	22,000	Except: Uzbekistan 16,500
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS)	7
OCEANIA	775
SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN	775

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-2012 program ends as of September 30, 2012. DV visas may not be issued to DV-2012 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2012 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2012. DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2012 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 MARCH

For March, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2012 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	35,800	Except: Egypt 26,000 Ethiopia 26,000 Nigeria 17,500
ASIA	27,000
EUROPE	26,500	Except: Uzbekistan 16,500
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS)	7
OCEANIA	925
SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN	925

D. VISA AVAILABILITY IN THE COMING MONTHS

FAMILY-sponsored categories (monthly)

Worldwide dates:
F1: three to five weeks
F2A: one to two months
F2B: three to four weeks
F3: one to three weeks
F4: up to one month

EMPLOYMENT-based categories (monthly)

Employment First:  Current

Employment Second:

China and India:  Reports from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicate that the rate of new filings for adjustment of status in recent months has been extremely low.  This fact has required the continued rapid forward movement of the cut-off date, in an attempt to generate demand and maximize number use under the annual limit.  Once the level of new filings or USCIS processing increases significantly, it will be necessary to slow or stop the movement of the cut-off.  Readers are once again advised that an eventual need to retrogress the cut-off date is also a distinct possibility.  

Employment Third:

Worldwide: up to one month
China: up to one month
India: up to two weeks
Mexico: up to one month
Philippines: up to one month

Employment Fourth:  Current

Employment Fifth:  Current

Please be advised that the above ranges are only estimates for what could happen during each of the next few months based on current applicant demand patterns.  The determination of the actual monthly cut-off dates is subject to fluctuations in applicant demand which can occur at any time.  Those categories with a “Current” projection will remain so for the foreseeable future.

 

Easier Path to Green Card for Some Illegal Immigrants Announced

The Obama Administration announced today January 6th that it would pass legislation facilitating a path to a Green Card for some illegal immigrants. 

This change that Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration is offering would benefit United States citizens who are married to or have children who are illegal immigrants. It would correct the hardships that many Americans now confront when their spouses or children apply to become legal permanent residents.

This proposal will make a great difference for countless Americans. Thousands will no longer be separated from family members and the proposal will encourage Americans to come forward to apply to bring illegal immigrant family members into the legal system.

Illegal immigrants who are married to or are children of American citizens are generally allowed under the law to become legal residents with a visa known as a green card. But the law requires most immigrants who are here illegally to return to their home countries in order to receive their legal visas.

The catch is that once the immigrants leave the United States, they are automatically barred from returning to this country for at least three years, and often for a decade, even if they are fully eligible to become legal residents.

The immigration agency can provide a waiver from those tough measures, if the immigrants can show that their absence would cause “extreme hardship” to a United States citizen. But until now, obtaining the waiver was almost impossible.  

Immigrants had to leave the United States and return to their countries of birth to wait for at least three months and sometimes much longer while the waiver was approved. And sometimes the waivers were not approved, and the immigrants were permanently stranded, separated from their American families.

Now, Citizenship and Immigration Services proposes to allow the immigrants to obtain a provisional waiver in the United States, before they leave for their countries to pick up their visas. Having the waiver in hand will allow them to depart knowing that they will almost certainly be able to return, officials said. The agency is also seeking to sharply streamline the process to cut down the wait times for visas to a few weeks at most.

On Friday, the agency will publish a formal notice in the Federal Register that it is preparing a new regulation governing the waivers. But agency officials, speaking on condition of anonymity on Thursday before the proposal was formally announced, stressed that this was only the beginning of a long regulatory process that they hoped to complete by issuing a new rule before the end of this year.

The change on how and where these waivers are designed to ease the burdens on American and immigrant families stemming from a broken immigration system.

Source of Article:  New York Times "Easier Route to Green Card to be Proposed for Some" by Julia Preston

 

January 2012 Visa Bulletin-Good News for EB2 from China and India

 In the January visa bulletin, wait times for EB-2 (employment based) visas for India and China  move forward by (by nine and a half months) and there is a continued forward movement in the FB1 (family based) categories.

Summary of the January 2012 Visa Bulletin – Employment-Based (EB)

Below is a summary of the January 2012 Visa Bulletin with respect to employment-based petitions:

• remains current across the board.
• EB-2 remains current for EB-2 ROW, Mexico and Philippines. EB-2 India and EB-2 China both move forward by nine and a half (9.5) months to January 1, 2009.
• EB-3 ROW, EB-3 Mexico and EB-3 Philippines move forward by only two (2) weeks to February 1, 2006, EB-3 China moves forward by five (5) weeks to October 15, 2004, while EB-3 India moves forward by only one (1) week to August 8, 2002.
• The “other worker” category remains unchanged (again) at April 22, 2003 for China. It moves forward by one and (1) month for ROW, Mexico and Philippines to February 1, 2006. It also moves forward by three (3) weeks for India to August 1, 2002.

Summary of the January 2012 Visa Bulletin – Family-Based (FB)

Below is a summary of the January 2012 Visa Bulletin with respect to family-based petitions:

• FB1 moves forward (again, for fourth consecutive month). FB1 ROW, China and India all move forward by six (6) weeks to October 15, 2004. FB1 Mexico moves forward by one (1) week to April 15, 1993 and FB1 Philippines moves forward by six (6) weeks to April 15, 1997.
• FB2A moves forward by one (1) month to April 22, 2009 for ROW, China, India, and Philippines. FB2A Mexico moves forward by six (6) weeks to March 22, 2009.
• FB2B ROW, China and India move forward by three (3) weeks to September 8, 2003. FB2B Mexico moves forward by only one (1) week to December 1, 1992. FB2B Philippines moves forward by two (2) weeks to September 1, 2001.

A. STATUTORY NUMBERS

1. This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during January. Allocations were made, to the extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand received by December 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. 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 Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	01JAN05	01JAN05	01JAN05	01JAN05	08JAN93	01JUN94
2A	01JAN08	01JAN08	01JAN08	01JAN08	01APR05	01JAN08
2B	15APR03	15APR03	01MAR02	15APR03	22JUN92	15MAY99
3rd	01JAN01	01JAN01	01JAN01	01JAN01	22OCT92	22OCT91
4th	01JAN02	01JAN02	01JAN02	01JAN02	22DEC95	01JAN88

*NOTE: For January, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 01APR05. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 01APR05 and earlier than 01JAN08. (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.)

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	22JUN06	C	08MAY06	C	C
3rd	22MAR05	15DEC03	22MAR05	01FEB02	15APR03	22MAR05
Other Workers	22APR03	22APR03	22APR03	01FEB02	15APR03	22APR03
4th	C	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th	C	C	C	C	C	C
Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C	C

 

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services-Going Paperless?

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is in the post-development testing phase of a new system that will transform its paper-based agency into an electronic, online organization.  This is an unprecedented step for the world’s largest and most complex immigration system.  To view USCIS Electronic Immigration System (ELIS) – you can log in to this informational video. 

USCIS’s transformation to ELIS will be accomplished in periodic releases, with each release covering different immigration benefits or adding enhanced functionality.  The first release, covering one benefit type (the Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status), provides the foundational architecture for the remaining releases.   

 

No More Wait times for Employment Based Green Cards?

In a move that would benefit highly skilled workers from countries like India and China seeking to stay in the US, the House of Representatives has voted to end per-country caps on employment based green cards.

The bill (HR 3012) passed by the the House of Representatives by both Democrat and Republicans, completely eliminates the per-country caps for employment-based visas and raises the per-country cap from seven per cent to 15 per cent for family-based visas.

The current Immigration and Nationality Act generally provides that the total number of employment-based immigrant visas made available to natives of any single foreign country in a year cannot exceed seven per cent of the total number of such visas made available in that year.  This would make visas immediately available to countries with a high number of skilled immigrant applicants such as China and India thereby effectively removing the decade-long visa back-log for theseworkers.  This bill will also increase the number of family based visas granted each year thereby assisting countries with a high number of family based immigrant applicants such as Mexico and Philippines. 

Because the bill had bipartisan support and was passed with a vote of 389 to 15, it is likely to pass the Senate as well.  If it passes the Senate, it will take three years before this bill is phased in and country-caps are completely eliminated for employment-based green cards.     

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving: An Immigrant's Perspective

 

Immigration Attorney Karen Pollak Speaks at LawReviewCle

Attorney Karen-Lee Pollak, Partner and Immigration Practice Group Chair for Bell Nunnally and Martin, LLP's immigration group will be a CLE speaker at LawReviewCle's Immigration Law Fundamentals course.  The course will provide an overview and introduction into the the basic concepts of U.S. immigration law and procedure.

This course is an introductory, step-by-step, instructional on the basics of Immigration Law.

The following key topics will be discussed:

• Introduction to Legal Immigration Law
• Family-based Visas
• Victims of Crime Visas & VAWA
• Employment-based Visas
• Asylum, Withholding of Removal & CAT
• Inadmissibility & Removal Proceedings
• Immigration Law Issues and Ethics

Credits:  TX Cle credits: 6.25 Hours | TX Cle ethics credit: .75 Hour |Total TX Cle credits: 7 Hours.  This course has been submitted for approval to the Texas State Bar-final approval pending. 

Location:  Renaissance Dallas Hotel | 2222 Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, Texas 75207 Directions

Time:  Thursday, December 8th | Start 09:00 AM – Finish 05:30 PM

Tuition:  $295 First Registrant |Add Associate $145 dollars* |Add Paralegal $145 dollars* | $145 Young Lawyers - Under 4 years acceptance to the Bar**

*To receive discount registration must be taken over the phone.
**Discounts can not be combined.

To learn more about Bell, Nunnally & martin, LLP's immigration practice please visit www.immigrationbn.com

 

H-1B Cap likely to be reached by end of November

•  International students working on an EAD card under an OPT or CPT program after having attended a U.S. school
• International employees working on a TN may need an H-1B filed for them in order for them to pursue a permanent residency (green card) case
• Prospective international employees in another visa status e.g. H-4, L-2, J-1, F-1
• H-1B workers with a cap exempt organization
• Prospective international employees currently living abroad

What does that mean for you? After the H-1B cap is reached, private employers cannot hire new temporary professional workers in H-1B status for this fiscal year and will have to wait until April 1, 2012 to file H-1B petitions for a start date of October 1, 2012.   

Prudent employers need to start considering and planning their H-1B visa needs for the upcoming fiscal year.  It is also advisable for employers to start making contingency plans for bringing temporary professional workers to the United States if the H-1B cap is reached.

 

 

 

 

Immigration: OPLA releases New Memo on Prosecutorial Discretion

Today, November 17, 2011,  the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) released a new memorandum relating to Prosecutorial Discretion and Immigration Enforcement.  See docs/OPLA memo.pdf.  The purpose of the memorandum is to ensure that that Immigration Courts follow the civil enforcement priorities laid out in the June 17, 2011 Morton memorandum.

OPLA announces in this memorandum that it will conduct a review of incoming and pending cases on the immigration court docket in each Office of Chief Counsel (OCC).  These cases fall into three categories.  1) Cases in which Notices to Appear have not been filed; 2) all cases on the Master Docket  and 3) all cases set for merit hearings up to seven months from the date of the memorandum. 

This review is estimated to take 2 months.  This November 17^th memorandum calls for each Office of Chief Counsel to establish a standard operating procedure to review the above categories of cases.  The Memorandum states that it does not replace the Morton memorandum, “which remains the cornerstone for assessing whether prosecutorial discretion is appropriate any circumstance". 

ICE has also released two companion memoranda relating to the next steps in implementing prosecutorial discretion and guidance for ICE attorneys in determining prosecutorial discretion. See  /Ice companion memo.pdf and docs/next steps for implementing prosecutorial discretion.pdf

 

Visa Bulletin for December 2011 | Immigration

A. STATUTORY NUMBERS

1. This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during December. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by November 8th. If not all demand could be satisfied, 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. If 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 announced in this bulletin.

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. 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.

4.  Section 203(a) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Family-sponsored immigrant visas as follows:        

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES

First:  (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. 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, plus any unused first preference numbers:

A. (F2A) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents:  77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;

 B. (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents:  23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Third:  (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth:  (F4) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens:  65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

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- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01SEP04	01SEP04	01SEP04	08APR93	08MAR97
F2A *	22MAR09	22MAR09	22MAR09	08FEB09	15MAR09
F2B	15AUG03	15AUG03	15AUG03	22NOV92	15AUG01
F3	22OCT01	22OCT01	22OCT01	15DEC92	22JUL92
F4	15JUL00	15JUL00	15JUL00	22MAY96	22SEP88

*NOTE:  For December, F2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 08FEB09.  F2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 08FEB09 and earlier than 22MAR09.  (All F2A numbers provided for MEXICO are exempt from the per-country limit; there are no F2A numbers for MEXICO subject to per-country limit.)

5.  Section 203(b) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Employment-based immigrant visas as follows:        

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 Pub. L. 102-395.

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.)

Employment- Based	All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	15MAR08	15MAR08	C	C
3rd	15JAN06	22AUG04	22JUL02	22DEC05	22DEC05
Other Workers*	15NOV05	22APR03	15JUN02	15NOV05	15NOV05
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th     Targeted Employment Areas/Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

*Employment Third Preference Other Workers Category:  Section 203(e) of the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997, 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.

6.  The Department of State has a recorded message with visa availability information which can be heard at:  (202) 663-1541.  This recording is updated on or about the tenth of each month with information on cut-off dates for the following month.

 

B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY

Section 203(c) of the INA provides up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to permit additional immigration opportunities for persons from countries with low admissions during the previous five years.  The NACARA 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 resulted in reduction of the DV-2012 annual limit 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 December, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2012 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	18,500	Except: Egypt 12,070 Ethiopia 13,500 Nigeria 12,000
ASIA	15,000
EUROPE	13,500
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS)	5
OCEANIA	575
SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN	600

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-2012 program ends as of September 30, 2012.  DV visas may not be issued to DV-2012 applicants after that date.  Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2012 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2012.  DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2012 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 JANUARY

For January, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2012 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	24,700	Except: Egypt 16,800 Ethiopia 16,800 Nigeria 14,500
ASIA	18,500
EUROPE	16,500
NORTH AMERICA                (BAHAMAS)	6
OCEANIA	650
SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN	675