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STATE DEPARTMENT VISA NUMBERS FOR DECEMBER 1995
A) STATUTORY NUMBERS (This communication provides priority dates and 
other transitional information as taken from the State Department's 
Visa Bulletin released November 13, 1995.)     
 
On the following chart, the listing of a date for any class indicates
that the class is oversubscribed; "C" means current, i.e., numbers are
available for all qualified applicants; and "U" means unavailable, i.e.,
no numbers are available.
 
PREFERENCES
FAMILY
 All Charge-
 ability Areas    CHINA-
 Except Those     mainland
 Listed           born        INDIA     MEXICO    PHILIPPINES  
Family
1st  C            C           C         01APR95     24JAN86
2A*  01AUG92      01AUG92     01AUG92   22FEB92     01AUG92
2B   15JUL90      15JUL90     15JUL90   15JUL90     15JUL90
3rd  15APR93      15APR93     15APR93   15JUL87     01MAY84
4th  15SEP85      15SEP85     01MAY84   01DEC84     15SEP77
 
*NOTE:  For DECEMBER, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are
available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier
than 22FEB92.  2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to
applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates
beginning 22FEB92 and earlier than 01AUG92.  (2A numbers subject to per-
country limit are "unavailable" for applicants chargeable to MEXICO.) 
                                       
 All Charge-
 ability Areas    CHINA-
 Except Those     mainland
 Listed           born         INDIA     MEXICO      PHILIPPINES 
Employment-Based
 
1st  C             C            C         C           C
2nd  C             C            C         C           C 
3rd  C             C            C         C           01MAY94
Other 01MAR91      01MAR91      01MAR91   01MAR91     01MAR91   
Workers
4th   C            C            C         C           16DEC93
Certain  C         C            C         C           16DEC93   
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 provide 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.
 
The allotment of FY-1996 visa numbers for each region is as follows:
Africa, 20,426; Asia, 7,087; Europe, 24,257; North America (Bahamas),
8; South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, 2,407; and Oceania,
815.
 
For DECEMBER, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to
qualified applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries on a
"CURRENT" basis. 
 
(NOTE:  For January and February, there will be rank cut-offs for Asia
(regional) and Bangladesh (country) to hold issuances within the limits.
For February, a rank cut-off will also be established for Oceania
(regional).  All other areas will stay "Current" for January and February.  
It remains to be seen if applicant demand will increase sufficiently to 
oversubscribe any other region/country for a 
subsequent month.)