APRIL 1997 STATE DEPARTMENT VISA NUMBERS
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS (This communication provides priority dates
and other transitional information as taken from the State Department's
Visa Bulletin released March 13, 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 01APR96 01APR96 01JAN93 15JUL86
2A* 22FEB93 22FEB93 15JUN92 22FEB93
2B 01APR91 01APR91 01APR91 01APR91
3rd 01FEB94 01FEB94 15MAR88 01DEC85
4th 15SEP86 01MAR85 08DEC85 08DEC77
*NOTE: For APRIL, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are
available to applicants from all countries with priority dates
earlier than 15JUN92. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are
available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO
with priority dates beginning 15JUN92 and earlier than 22FEB93.
(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 C C C
3rd C 01FEB95 C C
Other 15MAR90 15MAR90 15MAR90 15MAR90
Workers
4th C C C C
Certain C C C C
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 APRIL 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 APRIL, 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 numbers
BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
All DV Charge-
ability Areas
Except Those
Region Listed Separately
AFRICA AF 40,390 EXCEPT: GHANA AF 10,730
NIGERIA AF 09,750
ASIA AS 10,700 EXCEPT: BANGLADESH AS 08,575
EUROPE EU 30,001 EXCEPT: ALBANIA EU 16,850
POLAND EU 06,410
NORTH AMERICA
(BAHAMAS) CURRENT
OCEANIA OC 673
SOUTH AMERICA CURRENT
(CENTRAL AMERICA,
and the CARRIBBEAN
(NOTE: Heavy applicant demand has resulted in the establishment of
a regional cut-off for Oceania for April. Increased demand for DV
numbers from South America will make necessary the establishment of
a regional rank cut-off for May.)
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-97 program ends as of September
30, 1997. DV visas may not be issued to DV-97 applicants after
that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or
following to join DV-97 principals are only entitled to derivative
DV status until September 30, 1997.
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. The information provided in this article has not been updated since its original posting and you should not rely on it until you consult counsel to determine if the content is still valid. We keep older articles online because it helps in the understanding of the development of immigration law.