You've heard him on Greg Siskind's
national
teleconference series. Now Ari Sauer, the "Immigration
Answer Man" of Siskind Susser, has created a blog where he takes
your questions on immigration law and answers them here.
Have a question for Ari? Ask him at
immigrationanswerman@gmail.com!
Ari Sauer is an associate attorney with
Siskind Susser, PC. For Ari’s full bio, visit
http://www.visalaw.com/ari.html. You can schedule a consultation with
Ari or with one of Siskind Susser’s other attorneys at
http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html or by calling 1-800-343-4890 or
901-682-6455.
On this blog we answer questions as a service
to our readers, but we cannot assume any liability related to reliance on
anything herein, and responses to questions are not intended to establish an
attorney client relationship. Immigration laws and regulations are
constantly changing. Readers are cautioned to schedule a consultation with
an immigration lawyer before acting on anything stated in this blog. This
blog is not intended to substitute for a consultation with a qualified
immigration law attorney.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
How do I read the Department of State Visa Bulletin? Why is there a backlog in my preference category?
The Visa Bulletin, http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html, which is issued each month by the Department of State, shows when an immigrant visa is available for your immigrant visa petition. Congress has determined that there is to be a limit on the number of immigrant visas issued each year. Often there are more beneficiaries of immigrant visa petitions each year than there are available visas, which results in a backlog. Each preference category is allotted a specific percentage or number of visas from the total number of visas to be issued that year, which is why some preference categories are backlogged further than others. Furthermore, no country is allowed to receive more than 7% of the total number of visas issued for that year, which creates a further backlog for those countries that hit that 7% cap, which currently are China, India, Mexico and the Philippines.
The DOS calculates the Visa Bulletin based upon the number of approved immigrant visa petitions issued by USCIS. At times the USCIS will have an increase in the number of immigrant visa petitions it approves, or the DOS will find that it has miscalculated the number of approved petitions for a particular category, resulting in the DOS issuing a retrogression in the following month’s Visa Bulletin. Sometimes all visas for the year in a particular category will have been used before the end of the fiscal year, which will result in a visa becoming unavailable until October when the new fiscal year starts and new visas become available.
The Visa Bulletin consists of three charts: family-based immigrant visas; employment-based immigrant visas; and diversity visas. I will explain the family and employment-based charts, and save the discussion about diversity visas for another time. The family-based chart is split into 5 rows representing the four preference categories (The second preference category is split into two subcategories). Immediate Relatives (spouses and unmarried children under 21 of US citizens) are not listed on the chart because there is no limit to the number of visas to be issued to IRs. Once you have found your preference category, find the corresponding column for your country of nationality (usually your country of birth) or your spouse’s country of birth if they are immigrating with you. The date within the box shows the priority date for which a visa is available. If your priority date is earlier than the date listed then a visa is now available for your petition as of the 1st of the month listed at the top of the Visa Bulletin.
The employment-based chart is read the same way. It has nine rows each for a different preference category. The employment-based chart will sometimes have a letter listed instead of a date. The letter “C” shows that this category is Current, meaning there is no backlog and a visa is available. The letter “U” shows that this category is Unavailable, meaning all visas for this category have been used until October.
Derivatives beneficiary spouses and children are included in the preference category of the primary beneficiary.
# posted by Ari Sauer the Immigratio Answer Man @ 9:14 AM
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