Federal Agencies, Visa Bulletins
Visa Bulletin for May 1997
IMMIGRANT NUMBERS FOR MAY 1997 A. STATUTORY NUMBERS (This communication provides priority dates and other transitional information as taken from the State Department's Visa Bulletin released April 10, 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 08APR96 08APR96 01FEB93 18JUL86 2A* 01MAR93 01MAR93 22JUN92 01MAR93 2B 08APR91 08APR91 08APR91 08APR91 3rd 22FEB94 22FEB94 15APR88 22DEC85 4th 01NOV86 01MAR85 08FEB86 22DEC77 *NOTE: For MAY, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 22JUN92. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 22JUN92 and earlier than 01MAR93. (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 C C C 3rd C 01APR95 C C Other 01APR90 01APR90 01APR90 01APR90 Workers 4th C C C C Certain C C C C Religious Workers 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 MAY 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 MAY, 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 Charge- ability Areas Except Those Region Listed Separately AFRICA AF 40,390 EXCEPT: GHANA AF 10,730 NIGERIA AF 09,750 ASIA AS 11,020 EXCEPT: BANGLADESH AS 09,360 EUROPE EU 30,001 EXCEPT: ALBANIA EU 17,981 POLAND EU 06,410 NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) CURRENT OCEANIA OC 416 SOUTH AMERICA SA 2,150 (CENTRAL AMERICA, and the CARRIBBEAN (NOTE: Heavy applicant demand has resulted in the retrogression of the Oceania cut-off for and the establishment of a regional cut-off for South America for May.) 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-97 program ends as of September 30, 1997. DV visas may not be issued to DV-97 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-97 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 1997.
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