MARCH 1996 STATE DEPARTMENT VISA CUTOFF DATES

A) STATUTORY NUMBERS (This communication provides priority dates and 

other transitional information as taken from the State Department's

Visa Bulletin released February 12, 1996.)
 
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 
1st 	C  		C  	  C 	   01APR95  14FEB86
2A* 	15OCT92  	15OCT92   15OCT92  22MAR92  15OCT92
2B 	01OCT90  	01OCT90   01OCT90  01OCT90  01OCT90
3rd 	01JUL93  	01JUL93   01JUL93  08OCT87  08NOV84
4th 	01JAN86  	01JAN86   08OCT84  08APR85  23SEP77
*NOTE:  For MARCH, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit

are available to applicants from all countries with priority

dates earlier than 22MAR92.  2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country

limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries

EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 22MAR92 and earlier

than 01OCT92.  (2A numbers subject to per-country limit are

"unavailable" for applicants chargeable to MEXICO.) (The three-

year transition program which had provided additional visas for 

spouses/children of legalization beneficiaries  has ended; petitions

approved on behalf of such spouses/children continue to accord them

status in the Family 2A preference, however.)

 	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  	    22JUL94
Other 	01MAR91  	01MAR91   01MAR91  01MAR91  01MAR91   
Workers
4th 	C  		C  	  C 	   C  	    08MAY94
Certain C  		C  	  C 	   C  	    08MAY94   
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. 

 ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MARCH 1996 VISA BULLETIN

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 MARCH, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified

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 number BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:

   		All DV Chargeability
   		Areas Except Those
Region  	Listed Separately
AFRICA  	CURRENT
ASIA  		AS 06,358  	EXCEPT: BANGLADESH  AS 04,085
EUROPE  	CURRENT   	EXCEPT: POLAND  EU  07,717
NORTH AMERICA 	CURRENT
  (BAHAMAS)
OCEANIA  	OC OO,509
SOUTH AMERICA, 	CURRENT
  CENTRAL AMERICA,
  and the CARIBBEAN
NOTE:  Increased demand for DV numbers by applicants from Poland has made necessary

the establishment of the above rank cut-off for March. 
C.  CHANGE IN VISA SERVICE AT CONSULAR OFFICES
Visa services at the following consular offices ended as of the dates 
indicated:
France:  Consulate General, Bordeaux (Visa services ended January 12, 1996)Switzerland:

Consulate General, Zurich (Visa services ended January 22, 1996)