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NOVEMBER 1997 STATE DEPARTMENT VISA NUMBERS
IMMIGRANT NUMBERS FOR NOVEMBER 1997

A.   STATUTORY NUMBERS (This communication provides priority dates
and other transitional information as taken from the State
Department's Visa Bulletin released October 10, 1997.)  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  
     Except Those        
     Listed         INDIA     MEXICO    PHILIPPINES 

1st  01FEB95        01FEB95   01MAY93   13OCT86

2A*  22JUN93        22JUN93   22SEP92   22JUN93

2B   01JUN91        01JUN91   01MAY91   01JUN91

3rd  08MAY94        08MAY94   01JAN89   01JUN86

4th  01APR87        15JUL85   01OCT86   08MAR78

*NOTE:  For NOVEMBER, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are 
available to applicants from all countries with priority dates
earlier than 22SEP92.  2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are
available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO
with priority dates beginning 22SEP92 and earlier than 22JUN93. 
(2A numbers subject to per-country limit are "unavailable" for
applicants chargeable to MEXICO.) 

EMPLOYMENT-BASED

          All Charge-
          ability Areas  
          Except Those   
          Listed         INDIA     MEXICO    PHILIPPINES 

1st       C              C         C         C

2nd       C              01DEC95   C         C

3rd       C              15DEC94   C         C

Other     01APR90        01APR90   01APR90   01APR90
Workers

4th       C              C         C         C

Certain   01NOV96        01NOV96   01NOV96   01NOV96
Religious Workers

5th       C              C         C         C

Targeted  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 NOVEMBER 1997 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.

For NOVEMBER, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to
qualified applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries
on a CURRENT basis.

(NOTE: All regions/countries will be "Current" for December as
well.  For January, a rank cut-off will be establish for Africa and
Asia (regional) as well as Albania (country) to hold issuances
within the numerical limits. 

All other areas will remain Current for January.  It remains to be
seen if applicant demand will increase sufficiently to require
oversubscription of any other  region/country for 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.

C.   RETROGRESSION OF THE INDIA EMPLOYMENT THIRD CUT-OFF DATE

Continued heavy applicant demand for INDIA Employment THIRD
preference numbers (primarily for adjustment of status cases at INS
offices) has required the retrogression of this cut-off date for
November.  During FY-98, 2,803 visa numbers are provided by law for
the INDIA Employment Third preference category.  Visa demand is
very much in excess of this limit and cut-off date movement is
likely to be slow for the next several months. If later in the
fiscal year the numbers which fall into the Third preference, 
the visa cut-off date for that category may be able to move ahead
more rapidly. 
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