Visa Bulletin for October 1997

IMMIGRANT NUMBERS FOR OCTOBER 1997

A.   STATUTORY NUMBERS (This communication provides priority dates
and other transitional information as taken from the State
Department's Visa Bulletin released September 11, 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       01JAN95        01JAN95        01APR93        26SEP86
2A*       08JUN93        08JUN93        01SEP92        08JUN93
2B        22MAY91        22MAY91        01MAY91        22MAY91
3rd       08APR94        08APR94        15NOV88        01MAY86
4th       01MAR87        15JUN85        08SEP86        01MAR78



*NOTE:  For OCTOBER, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are
available to applicants from all countries with priority dates
earlier than 01SEP92.  2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are
available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO
with priority dates beginning 01SEP92 and earlier than 08JUN93. 
(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              01DEC95        C              C
3rd       C              08DEC95        C              C
Other     01JAN90        01JAN90        01JAN90        01JAN90

Workers
4th       C              C              C              C
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 OCTOBER 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 OCTOBER, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to 
qualified applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries
on a CURRENT basis.

(NOTE: All regions/countries will be “Current” for November and
December as well.  Applicant demand is likely to increase
sufficiently to require the establishment of visa allocation
cut-offs for some regions/countries for later months, however.)

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.

C.   RETROGRESSION OF THE MEXICO FAMILY FIRST CUT-OFF DATE

Continued heavy applicant demand for MEXICO Family First preference
numbers has required the retrogression of that cut-off date for
October. A further retrogression of the cut-off date for November
cannot be ruled out.

D.   CHINA-MAINLAND BORN AND INDIA EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE

AVAILABILITY

In recent weeks, INS has used very large amounts of Employment
preference visa numbers for adjustment of status cases for
CHINA-mainland born and INDIA Employment preference applicants.  If
visa number use continues at the current heavy level the
CHINA-mainland born chargeability may become oversubscribed as
early as November, with visa cut-off dates required for 
some or all of the Employment FIRST, SECOND and THIRD preference 
categories.

The INDIA Employment Second preference category has become
oversubscribed for October with a cut-off date of 01DEC95. The
establishment of a cut-off date for the INDIA Employment First
preference at some future point cannot be ruled out. A
retrogression of the INDIA Employment Second and Third 
preference cut-off dates during the coming months is also possible,
if the current heavy demand for visa numbers continues.

© 1999, American Immigration Lawyers Association