Visa Bulletin for March 1998

A. STATUTORY NUMBERS (This communication provides priority dates and other transitional information as taken from the State Department's Visa Bulletin released February 12, 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  08JUL96        08JUL96   08JUL96   01JUL93   22DEC86

2A*  15OCT93        15OCT93   15OCT93   08DEC92   15OCT93

2B   15AUG91        15AUG91   15AUG91   01JUN91   15AUG91

3rd  22SEP94        22SEP94   15SEP94   01MAY89   15NOV86

4th  01OCT87        01OCT87   22JAN86   15JAN87   15APR78

*NOTE: For MARCH, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are
available to applicants from all countries with priority dates
earlier than 08DEC92. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are
available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO
with priority dates beginning 08DEC92 and earlier than 15OCT93.
(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         22MAY97   C         C         C   

2nd       C         15APR96   22JUN96   C         C 

3rd       C         01FEB94   08MAY95   C         C   

Other     01MAR91   01MAR91   01MAR91   01MAR91   01MAR91
Workers

4th       C         C         C         C         C

Certain   01JUL97   01JUL97   01JUL97   01JUL97   01JUL97  
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 MARCH 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 MARCH, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to
qualified DV-98 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible
countries on a "CURRENT" basis, except as listed below.

                    All DV Charge-
                    ability Areas
                    Except Those
 Region             Listed Separately
 
 AFRICA             AF  27,200 

 ASIA               AS 10,641      EXCEPT:   BANGLADESH  AS 6,002
 
 EUROPE             EU  17,711     EXCEPT:   ALBANIA  EU  10,229
                                             BULGARIA  EU 13,653
                                                
NORTH AMERICA       CURRENT
   (BAHAMAS)
 
OCEANIA             CURRENT  
 
SOUTH AMERICA,      CURRENT
   CENTRAL AMERICA,
   and the CARIBBEAN

(NOTE: It remains to be seen if applicant demand will increase
sufficiently to require over subscription of any other
region/country in a subsequent month.)

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.


27MMVIS8.MAR