United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs

VISA BULLETIN

Number 46
Volume VIII
Washington, D.C.

IMMIGRANT NUMBERS FOR JULY 2002

A. STATUTORY NUMBERS

1. This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during July. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; the Immigration and Naturalization Service reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand received by June 7th 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 earlier than 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."

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: 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 May, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 22NOV94. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 22NOV94 and earlier than 15APR97. (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.)

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 (NCARA) 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 NCARA program. This reduction has resulted in the DV-2002 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 July, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2002 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 Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately

Region

AFRICA: AF 25,650
ASIA: AS 9,850 Except: Bangladesh 4,800
EUROPE: EU 19,000 Except: Ukraine 15,775
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS): NA 11
OCEANIA: OC 535
SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN: SA 1,365

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-2002 program ends as of September 30, 2002. DV visas may not be issued to DV-2002 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2002 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2002. DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2002 cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be exhausted prior to September 30. Once all numbers provided by law for the DV-2002 program have been used, no further issuances will be possible.

C. ADVANCE NOTIFICATION OF THE DIVERSITY (DV) IMMIGRANT CATEGORY RANK CUT-OFFS WHICH WILL APPLY IN AUGUST

For August, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2002 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 Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately

Region

AFRICA: AF 33,250
ASIA: AS 16,700
EUROPE: CURRENT
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS): CURRENT
OCEANIA: CURRENT
SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN:CURRENT

D. DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY 2003 (DV-2003) RESULTS

The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2003 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 87,000 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-2003 numbers will be used during fiscal year 2003 (October 1, 2002 until September 30, 2003).

Applicants registered for the DV-2003 program were selected at random from the approximately 6.2 million qualified entries received during the one-month application period that ran from Noon on October 1, 2001 through Noon on October 31, 2001. An additional 2.5 million applications were either received outside of the mail-in period or were disqualified for failing to properly follow directions. 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 Immigration and Naturalization Service for information on the requirements and procedures. Once the total *50,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2003 will end. Selected applicants who do not receive visas by September 30, 2003 will derive no further benefit from their DV-2003 registration. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2003 principal applicants are only entitled to derivative diversity visa status until September 30, 2003.

Only participants in the DV-2003 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-2004 lottery if they wish. The dates for the mail-in period for the DV-2004 lottery are scheduled from noon, Monday, October 7, 2002 until noon, Wednesday, November 6, 2002. Instructions on entering the DV-2004 program will be widely publicized in late July or early August 2002.

* The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NCARA) 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 NCARA 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-2003 program:

AFRICA

ALGERIA 834
ANGOLA 29
BENIN 134
BOTSWANA 4
BURKINA FASO 28
BURUNDI 21
CAMEROON 675
CAPE VERDE 1
CENTRAL AFRICAN REP. 8
CHAD 45
COMOROS 2
CONGO 41
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF THE 619
COTE D'IVOIRE 298
DJIBOUTI 24
EGYPT 1,551
EQUATORIAL GUINEA 8
ERITREA 252
ETHIOPIA 5,562
GABON 20
GAMBIA, THE 32
GHANA 6,333
GUINEA 157
GUINEA-BISSAU 1
KENYA 3,194
LESOTHO 2
LIBERIA 1,067
LIBYA 61
MADAGASCAR 25
MALAWI 31
MALI 46
MAURITANIA 14
MAURITIUS 25
MOROCCO 3,083
MOZAMBIQUE 5
NAMIBIA 6
NIGER 34
NIGERIA 5,989
RWANDA 21
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE 0
SENEGAL 199
SEYCHELLES 0
SIERRA LEONE 3,096
SOMALIA 748
SOUTH AFRICA 617
SUDAN 1,297
SWAZILAND 5
TANZANIA 349
TOGO 1,994
TUNISIA 114
UGANDA 195
ZAMBIA 109
ZIMBABWE 133

ASIA

AFGHANISTAN 45
BAHRAIN 7
BANGLADESH 4,935
BHUTAN 4
BRUNEI 1
BURMA 461
CAMBODIA 260
HONG KONG SPECIAL
ADMIN. REGION 190
INDONESIA 608
IRAN 768
IRAQ 71
ISRAEL 145
JAPAN 890
JORDAN 75
KUWAIT 30
LAOS 6
LEBANON 62
MALAYSIA 167
MALDIVES 0
MONGOLIA 56
NEPAL 2,320
NORTH KOREA 4
OMAN 6
QATAR 1
SAUDI ARABIA 38
SINGAPORE 80
SRI LANKA 889
SYRIA 62
TAIWAN 1,618
THAILAND 297
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 29
YEMEN 44

EUROPE

ALBANIA 1,898
ANDORRA 0
ARMENIA 630
AUSTRIA 64
AZERBAIJAN 281
BELARUS 836
BELGIUM 42
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA 93
BULGARIA 2,843
CROATIA 70
CYPRUS 18
CZECH REPUBLIC 230
DENMARK 35
ESTONIA 61
FINLAND 26
FRANCE 308
Guadeloupe 4
Martinique 2
GEORGIA 332
GERMANY 850
GREECE 41
HUNGARY 170
ICELAND 7
IRELAND 288
ITALY 168
KAZAKHSTAN 454
KYRGYZSTAN 199
LATVIA 172
LIECHTENSTEIN 0
LITHUANIA 2,245
LUXEMBOURG 3
MACEDONIA, FORMER
YUGOSLAV REP. OF 145
MALTA 3
MOLDOVA 418
MONACO 0
NETHERLANDS 90
Netherlands Antilles 5
Aruba 1
NORTHERN IRELAND 43
NORWAY 16
POLAND 3,855
PORTUGAL 13
Macau 21
ROMANIA 1,636
RUSSIA 2,695
SAN MARINO 0
SLOVAKIA 318
SLOVENIA 3
SPAIN 77
SWEDEN 88
SWITZERLAND 163
TAJIKISTAN 86
TURKEY 1,629
TURKMENISTAN 79
UKRAINE 4,035
UZBEKISTAN 1,192
VATICAN CITY 0
YUGOSLAVIA 245

NORTH AMERICA

BAHAMAS, THE 13

OCEANIA

AUSTRALIA 414
FIJI 524
KIRIBATI 0
MARSHALL ISLANDS 0
MICRONESIA, FEDERATED
STATES OF 0
NAURU 0
NEW ZEALAND 210
Cook Islands 3
PALAU 5
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 7
SAMOA 2
SOLOMON ISLANDS 0
TONGA 38
TUVALU 0
VANUATU 0

SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA 1
ARGENTINA 343
BARBADOS 3
BELIZE 5
BOLIVIA 65
BRAZIL 452
CHILE 27
COSTA RICA 25
CUBA 529
DOMINICA 9
ECUADOR 411
GRENADA 0
GUATEMALA 14
GUYANA 27
HONDURAS 16
NICARAGUA 24
PANAMA 18
PARAGUAY 3
PERU 1,063
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS 0
SAINT LUCIA 3
SAINT VINCENT AND
THE GRENADINES 0
SURINAME 8
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 69
URUGUAY 32
VENEZUELA 260

Natives of the following countries were not eligible to participate in DV-2003: Canada, China (mainland-born, excluding Hong Kong S.A.R., and Taiwan), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

E. OBTAINING THE MONTHLY VISA BULLETIN

The Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs offers the monthly Visa Bulletin on the Internet's Worldwide Web. The Internet Web page address to access the Bulletin is:

http://travel.state.gov

From the home page, select the VISA section that contains the Visa Bulletin.

Individuals may also obtain the Visa Bulletin by fax. From a fax phone, dial (202) 647-3000. Follow the prompts and enter in the code 1522 to have each Bulletin faxed.

To be placed on the Department of State’s e-mail subscription list for the Visa Bulletin, please provide your e-mail information to the following e-mail address:

VISABULLETIN@STATE.GOV

The Department of State also has available a recorded message with visa cut-off dates which can be heard at (202) 663-1541. The recording is normally updated by the middle of each month with information on cut-off dates for the following month.

The Visa Bulletin can also be contacted by e-mail at the following address:

VISABULLETIN@STATE.GOV

Department of State Publication 9514
CA/VO: June 7, 2002