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State Department Visa Bulletin
IMMIGRANT
NUMBERS FOR AUGUST 2005 A.
STATUTORY NUMBERS
1.
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during August.
Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State
documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security
reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the
extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand received by July
11th in the chronological order of the reported priority dates. If the
demand could not be satisfied within the statutory or regulatory limits, the
category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed
oversubscribed. The cut-off date for an oversubscribed category is the priority
date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical
limits. Only applicants who have a priority date earlierthan the cut-off
date may be allotted a number. Immediately that it becomes necessary during the
monthly allocation process to retrogress a cut-off date, supplemental requests
for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new
cut-off date. 2.
Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets an annual minimum
family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000. The worldwide level for annual
employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000. Section 202
prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of
the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e.,
25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320 3.
Section 203 of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of immigrant
visas as follows: FAMILY-SPONSORED
PREFERENCES First:
Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required
for fourth preference. Second:
Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents:&
114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level
exceeds 226,000, and any unused first preference numbers: A.
Spouses and Children: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of
which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit; B.
Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older): 23% of the overall
second preference limitation. Third
Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by
first and second preferences. Fourth:
Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by
first three preferences. EMPLOYMENT-BASED
PREFERENCES First:
Priority Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference
level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences. Second:
Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional
Ability: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level,
plus any numbers not required by first preference. Third:Skilled
Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide level, plus
any numbers not required by first and second preferences,
not more than 10,000 of which to "Other Workers". Schedule A Workers
are entitled to up to 50,000 “recaptured” numbers. Fourth:
Certain Special Immigrants: 7.1% of the worldwide level. Fifth:
Employment Creation: 7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which
reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000
set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of P.L. 102-395. 4. INA
Section 203(e) provides that family-sponsored and employment-based preference
visas be issued to eligible immigrants in the order in which a petition in
behalf of each has been filed. Section 203(d) provides that spouses and children
of preference immigrants are entitled to the same status, and the same order of
consideration, if accompanying or following to join the principal. The visa
prorating provisions of Section 202(e) apply to allocations for a foreign state
or dependent area when visa demand exceeds the per-country limit. These
provisions apply at present to the following oversubscribed chargeability areas:
CHINA-mainland born, INDIA, MEXICO, and PHILIPPINES. 5.
On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class
is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); "C" means current, i.e., numbers
are available for all qualified applicants; and "U" means unavailable,
i.e., no numbers are available. (NOTE: Numbers are available only for applicants
whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below.)
*NOTE:
For August, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to
applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 01JUL98.
2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants
chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning
01JUL98 and earlier than 22JUL01. (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.)
The
Department of State has available a recorded message with visa availability
information which can be heard at: (area code 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 a maximum of up to 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. The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by
Congress in November 1997 stipulates that beginning with DV-99, and for as long
as necessary, up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will
be made available for use under the NACARA program. This reduction has
resulted in the DV-2005 annual limit being reduced to 50,000. DV visas
are divided among six geographic regions. No one country can receive more than
seven percent of the available diversity visas in any one year. For
August, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified
DV-2005 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:
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-2005 program ends as of
September 30, 2005. DV visas may not be issued to DV-2005 applicants after that
date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2005
principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2005.
DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2005 cannot be taken for
granted. Numbers could be exhausted prior to September 30. C.
ADVANCE NOTIFICATION OF THE DIVERSITY (DV) IMMIGRANT CATEGORY RANK CUT-OFFS
WHICH WILL APPLY IN SEPTEMBER
For
September, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to
qualified DV-2005 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:
D.
EMPLOYMENT VISA AVAILABILITY FOR THE REMAINDER OF FY-2005 Demand
for numbers by CIS Offices for adjustment of status cases remains very high. As
the end of the fiscal year approaches, it might be necessary to establish an
Employment Second preference cut-off date for September to keep visa issuances
within the annual numerical limits set by law. If required, such a cut-off date
is likely to be limited to the China-mainland born and India chargeability
areas. E.
DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY 2006 (DV-2006) RESULTS The
Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified
the winners of the DV-2006 diversity lottery. The diversity lottery was
conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act and makes available *50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons
from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Approximately
90,000 applicants have been registered and notified and may now make an
application for an immigrant visa. Since it is likely that some of the first
*50,000 persons registered will not pursue their cases to visa issuance, this
larger figure should insure that all DV-2006 numbers will be used during fiscal
year 2006 (October 1, 2005 until September 30, 2006). Applicants
registered for the DV-2005 program were selected at random from over 6.3 million
qualified entries received during the 60-day application period that ran from
12:00 AM on November 5, 2004, until midnight, January 7, 2005. The visas have
been apportioned among six geographic regions with a maximum of seven percent
available to persons born in any single country. During the visa interview,
principal applicants must provide proof of a high school education or its
equivalent, or show two years of work experience in an occupation that requires
at least two years of training or experience within the past five years. Those
selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly.
Applicants should follow the instructions in their notification letter and must
fully complete the information requested. Registrants
living legally in the United States who wish to apply for adjustment of their
status must contact the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services for
information on the requirements and procedures. Once the total *50,000 visa
numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2006 will end. Selected
applicants who do not receive visas by September 30, 2006 will derive no further
benefit from their DV-2006 registration. Similarly, spouses and children
accompanying or following to join DV-2006 principal applicants are only entitled
to derivative diversity visa status until September 30, 2006. Only
participants in the DV-2006 program who were selected for further processing
have been notified. Those who have not received notification were not selected.
They may try for the upcoming DV-2007 lottery if they wish. The dates for the
registration period for the DV-2007 lottery program will be widely publicized
during August 2005. * The
Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in
November 1997 stipulated that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated
diversity visas be made available for use under the NACARA program. The
reduction of the limit of available visas to 50,000 began with DV-2000. The
following is the statistical breakdown by foreign-state chargeability of those
registered for the DV-2006 program:
AFRICA
ASIA
NORTH AMERICA
OCEANIA
SOUTH
AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN
Natives
of the following countries were not eligible to participate in DV-2006: Canada,
China (mainland-born, excluding Hong Kong S.A.R., and Taiwan), Colombia,
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, the
Philippines, Russia, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and
its dependent territories, and Vietnam. F.
OBTAININGTHEMONTHLYVISABULLETIN
The
Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs offers the monthly "Visa
Bulletin" on the INTERNET'S WORLDWIDE WEB. The INTERNET Web address to
access the Bulletin is: http://travel.state.gov
From
the home page, select the VISA section which contains the Visa Bulletin. To be placed
on the Department of State’s E-mail subscription list for the “Visa
Bulletin”, please send an E-mail to the following E-mail address: listserv@calist.state.gov
and in
the message body type: Subscribe
Visa-Bulletin First
name/Last name (example:
Subscribe Visa-Bulletin Sally Doe) To
be removed from the Department of State’s E-mail subscription list for
the “Visa Bulletin”, send an e-mail message to the following
E-mail address: listserv@calist.state.gov
and in the message body type: Signoff
Visa-Bulletin
The
Department of State also has available a recorded message with visa cut-off
dates which can be heard at: (area code 202) 663-1541. The recording is normally
updated by the middle of each month with information on cut-off dates for the
following month. Readers
may submit questions regarding Visa Bulletin related items by E-mail
at the following address: (This
address cannot be used to subscribe to the Visa Bulletin.)
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Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||