Visa Bulletin for January 1998

Immigrant Numbers for January 1998

A. STATUTORY NUMBERS (This communication provides priority dates and other transitional information as taken from the State Department's Visa Bulletin released December 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  CHINA

     Except Those   Mainland

     Listed         born      INDIA     MEXICO    PHILIPPINES 



1st  15APR96        15APR96   15APR96   01MAY93   08NOV86



2A*  08AUG93        08AUG93   08AUG93   150CT92   08AUG93



2B   01JUL91        01JUL91   01JUL91   15MAY91   01JUL91



3rd  08JUL94        08JUL94   08JUL94   01FEB89   08AUG86



4th  08JUN87        08JUN87   01OCT85   01NOV86   17MAR78



*NOTE:  For JANUARY, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are

available to applicants from all countries with priority dates

earlier than 15OCT92.  2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are

available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO

with priority dates beginning 15OCT92 and earlier than 08AUG93. 

(2A numbers subject to per-country limit are "unavailable" for

applicants chargeable to MEXICO.) 



EMPLOYMENT-BASED



     All Charge-

     ability Areas  CHINA-

     Except Those   mainland

     Listed         born      INDIA     MEXICO    PHILIPPINES 



1st       C         08APR97   C         C         C



2nd       C         15MAR96   01MAY96   C         C



3rd       C         08DEC93   08FEB95   C         C



Other     01DEC90   01DEC90   01DEC90   01DEC90   01DEC90

Workers



4th       C         C         C         C         C



Certain   01JUN97   01JUN97   01JUN97   01JUN97   01JUN97

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 JANUARY 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 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 JANUARY, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to 

qualified applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries

on a CURRENT basis.



          All DV Charge-

          ability Areas

          Except Those

Region    Listed Separately



AFRICA    AF  27,070          

                                        

ASIA      AS  10,220     EXCEPT:   BANGLADESH   AS  5,220        



EUROPE    CURRENT        EXCEPT:   ALBANIA   EU   9,291

                                        

NORTH AMERICA

(BAHAMAS)           CURRENT



OCEANIA             CURRENT



SOUTH AMERICA       CURRENT

(CENTRAL AMERICA,

and the CARRIBBEAN



(NOTE:  For January, a rank cut-off will be establish for Africa

and Asia (regional) as well as Bangladesh and Albania (country) to

hold issuances within the numerical limits.  All other areas will

remain Current for January.  It remains to be seen if applicant

demand will increase sufficiently to require oversubscription of

any other  region/country for 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.