Visa Bulletin for February 1998

Immigrant Numbers for February 1998

A.   STATUTORY NUMBERS (This communication provides priority dates
and other transitional information as taken from the State
Department's Visa Bulletin released January 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  15MAY96        15MAY96   15MAY96   15MAY93   03DEC86

2A*  08SEP93        08SEP93   08SEP93   08NOV92   08SEP93

2B   22JUL91        22JUL91   22JUL91   22MAY91   22JUL91

3rd  15AUG94        15AUG94   15AUG94   15MAR89   22SEP86

4th  01AUG87        01AUG87   01DEC85   08DEC86   30MAR78

*NOTE: For FEBRUARY, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are
available to applicants from all countries with priority dates
earlier than 08NOV92. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are
available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO
with priority dates beginning 08NOV92 and earlier than 08SEP93.
(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         15MAY97   C         C         C   

2nd       C         08APR96   01JUN96   C         C 

3rd       C         22JAN94   01APR95   C         C   

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

4th       C         C         C         C         C

Certain   22JUN97   22JUN97   22JUN97   22JUN97   22JUN97  
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 FEBRUARY 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 FEBRUARY, 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            CURRENT        

  ASIA              AS 10,641      EXCEPT:  BANGLADESH  AS 5,620
 
  EUROPE            CURRENT   EXCEPT:  ALBANIA  EU 9,291
                                                 
  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.