Visa Bulletin for September 1996
IMMIGRANT NUMBERS FOR SEPTEMBER 1996
A) STATUTORY NUMBERS (This communication provides priority dates and other transitional information as taken from the State Department's Visa Bulletin released August 12, 1996.)
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 C C U 15JUN86
2A* 22JAN93 22JAN93 08JUN92 22JAN93
2B 01APR91 01APR91 01APR91 01APR91
3rd 01AUG93 01AUG93 01NOV87 01SEP85
4th 01MAR86 01JUL84 U 19OCT77
*NOTE: For SEPTEMBER, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to
applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 08JUN92. 2A numbers
SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries
EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 08JUN92 and earlier than 01JAN93. (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 U C C
2nd C U C C
3rd C U C 01JUL95
Other 08AUG87 U 08AUG87 08AUG87
Workers
4th C U C 01AUG95
Certain C U C 01AUG95
Religious Workers
5th C U C C
Targeted C U 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 SEPTEMBER 1996 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 SEPTEMBER, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified
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
Region Listed Separately
AFRICA CURRENT
ASIA CURRENT
EUROPE CURRENT EXCEPT: POLAND EU 05,899
NORTH AMERICA CURRENT
(BAHAMAS)
OCEANIA CURRENT
SOUTH AMERICA, CURRENT
CENTRAL AMERICA
and the CARRIBBEAN
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-96 program ends as of September 30, 1996. DV visas may not be issued to DV-96 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-96 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 1996.
C. NOTES ON VISA AVAILABILITY
A few OTHER WORKERS numbers which had been allocated for July were returned unused at the end of that month. As a result, a very small September allocation has been possible, for applicants with priority dates before August 8, 1987.
Regular monthly allocations of OTHER WORKERS numbers will resume for October the first month of fiscal year 1997. Current indications suggest that an early 1989 visa cut-off date is probable for October. The cut-off date can be expected to move ahead during subsequent months, but it is not possible to predict how rapid the advance will be.
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