STATE DEPARTMENT VISA BULLETIN FOR AUGUST 1998

A. STATUTORY NUMBERS (This communication provides priority dates and other transitional information as taken from the State Department's Visa Bulletin released July 13, 1998.) 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 15MAR97 15MAR97 15MAR97 01AUG93 19FEB87 2A* 08FEB94 08FEB94 08FEB94 22MAR93 08FEB94 2B 01DEC91 01DEC91 01DEC91 01JUL91 01DEC91 3rd 01FEB95 01FEB95 01FEB95 22NOV89 08FEB87 4th 15MAR88 22JAN88 08MAR86 15JUN87 08JUN78 *NOTE: For AUGUST, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 22MAR93. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 22MAR93 and earlier than 08FEB94. (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 Charge- ability Areas CHINA- Except Those mainland Listed born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES 1st C 08JUL97 C C C 2nd C 01MAR96 01FEB97 C C 3rd C 08APR94 01DEC95 C C Other 01JAN92 01JAN92 01JAN92 01JAN92 01JAN92 Workers 4th C C C C C Certain C C C C C 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 AUGUST 1998 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 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 AUGUST, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-98 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: All DV Charge- ability Areas Except Those Region Listed Separately AFRICA CURRENT ASIA CURRENT EUROPE EU 22,620 EXCEPT: ALBANIA EU 16,620 NORTH AMERICA CURRENT (BAHAMAS) OCEANIA CURRENT SOUTH AMERICA, CURRENT CENTRAL AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN 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.

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