United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
VISA BULLETIN
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
1995 September Visa Bulletin No. 54, Vol. VII
Bureau of Consular Affairs
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Number 54 Volume VII Washington, D.C.
IMMIGRANT NUMBERS FOR SEPTEMBER 1995
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS
1. This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers
during September. Consular officers are required to report to the
Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically
limited visas; the Immigration and Naturalization Service reports
applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the
extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand received
by August 8th in the chronological order of the reported priority dates.
If the demand could not be satisfied within the statutory or regulatory
limits, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was
deemed oversubscribed. The cut-off date for an oversubscribed category
is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached
within the numerical limits. Only applicants who have a priority date
earlier than the cut-off date may be allotted a number. Immediately
that it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to
retrogress a cut-off date, supplemental requests for numbers will be
honored only if the priority date falls within the new cut-off date.
2. The fiscal year 1995 limit for family-sponsored preference
immigrants determined in accordance with Section 201 of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (INA) is 253,721. The fiscal year 1995 limit for
employment-based preference immigrants calculated under INA 201 is
146,503. Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for
preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored
and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 28,016 for FY 1995. The
dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 8,004.
3. Section 203 of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment
of immigrant visas as follows:
FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First: Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400 plus any
numbers not required for fourth preference.
Second: Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of
Permanent Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the
worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, and any unused first
preference numbers:
A. Spouses and Children: 77% of the overall second preference
limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
B. Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older): 23% of the
overall second preference limitation.
Third: Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400, plus any
numbers not required by first and second preferences.
Fourth: Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens: 65,000, plus any
numbers not required by first three preferences.
EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
First: Priority Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based
preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth
preferences.
Second: Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons
of Exceptional Ability: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based
preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.
Third: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers: 28.6% of the
worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second
preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to "Other Workers".
Fourth: Certain Special Immigrants: 7.1% of the worldwide level.
Fifth: Employment Creation: 7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than
3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-
unemployment area, and 300 set aside for investors in regional centers
by Sec. 610 of P.L. 102-395.
4. INA Section 203(e) provides that family-sponsored and employment-
based preference visas be issued to eligible immigrants in the order in
which a petition in behalf of each has been filed. Section 203(d)
provides that spouses and children of preference immigrants are entitled
to the same status, and the same order of consideration, if accompanying
or following to join the principal. The visa prorating provisions of
Section 202(e) apply to allocations for a foreign state or dependent
area when visa demand exceeds the per-country limit. These provisions
apply at present to the following oversubscribed chargeability areas:
CHINA-mainland born, INDIA, MEXICO, and PHILIPPINES.
5. On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates
that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); "C" means current,
i.e., numbers are available for all qualified applicants; and "U" means
unavailable, i.e., no numbers are available. (NOTE: Numbers are
available only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the
cut-off date listed below.)
PREFERENCES
All Charge-
ability Areas CHINA-
Except Those mainland
Listed born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES
Family
1st C C C C 09JAN86
2A* 01JUL92 01JUL92 01JUL92 22FEB92 01JUL92
2B 22MAY90 22MAY90 22MAY90 22MAY90 22MAY90
3rd 15JAN93 15JAN93 15JAN93 01JUL87 01FEB84
4th 15AUG85 15AUG85 15APR84 01NOV84 13SEP77
*NOTE: For SEPTEMBER, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are
available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier
than 22FEB92. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to
applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates
beginning 22FEB92 and earlier than 01JUL92. (2A numbers subject to per-
country limit are "unavailable" for applicants chargeable to MEXICO.)
(The three-year transition program which had provided additional visas
for spouses/children of legalization beneficiaries has ended; petitions
approved on behalf of such spouses/children continue to accord them
status in the Family 2A preference, however.)
All Charge-
ability Areas CHINA-
Except Those mainland
Listed born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES
Employment-
Based
1st C C C C C
2nd C C C C C
3rd C C C C 01MAY94
Other 01MAR91 01MAR91 01MAR91 01MAR91 01MAR91
Workers
4th C C C C 24NOV93
Certain C C C C 24NOV93
Religious
Workers
5th C C C C C
Targeted Employ- C C C C C
ment Areas/
Regional Centers
NOTE: The visa availability dates shown in the first column of the
lists above (that is, the "ALL CHARGEABILITY AREAS etc." column) apply
to the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC in all preference categories. The DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC is, therefore, not currently an "oversubscribed" country for
visa allocation purposes, and accordingly will no longer be listed
separately on the chart of monthly cut-off dates.
The Department of State has available a recorded message with visa
availability information which can be heard at: (area code 202) 663-
1541. This recording will be updated in the middle of each month with
information on cut-off dates for the following month.
B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY
Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides 55,000
immigrant visas each fiscal year (beginning with FY-1995) 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.
The allotment of FY-1995 visa numbers for each region is as follows:
Africa, 20,200; Asia, 6,837; Europe, 24,549; North America (Bahamas), 8;
South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, 2,589; and Oceania,
817.
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 Charge-
ability Areas
Except Those
Region Listed Separately
AFRICA AF 29,679 EXCEPT: ETHIOPIA 16,630
NIGERIA 17,918
ASIA AS 06,692
EUROPE Current EXCEPT: POLAND (see note below)
NORTH AMERICA (see note below)
(BAHAMAS)
OCEANIA OC 00,681
SOUTH AMERICA, SA 01,368
CENTRAL AMERICA,
and the CARIBBEAN
NOTE: Visas have already been made available to the FY-1995
numerical limit for Poland and North America. At present, additional
Poland and North America allocations are unavailable.
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
Fiscal (visa) Year 1995 ends as of September 30, 1995, and their lottery
registration will confer no benefit after that date. FY-1995 Diversity
visa cases should be brought to completion as soon as possible.
C. TRANSITION DIVERSITY (AA-1) CATEGORY FOR NATIVES OF CERTAIN
"ADVERSELY AFFECTED" COUNTRIES
Section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act
of 1994 (P.L. 103-416) permits the 1,404 AA-1 visa numbers which were
unused during the three year (FYs 1992 through 1994) term of that
program to be issued in FY-1995; 1,313 of these numbers are reserved for
applicants from Ireland (including Northern Ireland). Entitlement to
these visas is limited to natives of the countries which had earlier
been identified as "adversely affected" for purposes of the "NP-5"
immigrant program established under Section 314 of the Immigration
Reform and Control Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-603). Applicants for these
visas are to be selected from among those who had submitted applications
for Diversity (DV-1) visas during the June 1994 mail-in period.
For September, immigrant numbers in the AA-1 category are available to
qualified applicants as follows:
For Ireland and Northern Ireland: Current
FY-1995 AA-1 numbers for all other areas have been made available to the
limit.
D. IMMIGRANT VISA PROCESSING AT ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
Item E in Visa Bulletin no. 52 announced the transfer of immigrant visa
processing in Pakistan from Karachi to Islamabad. The Department of
State wishes to make clear that the U.S. Embassy at Islamabad will
process immigrant visa cases for all residents of Pakistan and
Afghanistan. Discretionary jurisdiction cases for non-residents cannot
be accepted at Islamabad because of the post's heavy workload, however.
E. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA LOTTERY (DV-96) RESULTS
The National Visa Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire has registered
the winners of the DV-96 permanent diversity lottery. The diversity
lottery was legislated under Section 203(c) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act of 1990 and makes available 55,000 permanent resident
visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration
to the United States. Approximately 100,000 applicants have been
registered and may now make an application for an immigrant visa.
Applicants registered for the DV-96 program were selected at random
from the approximately 4.5 million qualified entries received during the
one-month application period which ran from midnight January 31, 1995
through midnight March 1, 1995. An additional 2.2 million applications
received (inside and outside the mail-in period) were disqualified for
failing to properly follow directions.
The visas have been apportioned among six geographic regions with a
limit of seven percent or 3,850 visas that can be issued to persons born
in any single country. During the visa interview, principal applicants
must provide proof of a high school education or its equivalent or show
two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two
years of training or experience within the past five years.
Those selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications
quickly. Applicants should follow the instructions in their packet and
must fully complete the information requested. Registrants living in
the United States who wish to apply for adjustment of their status must
contact the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Once the total
55,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 1996
will end. There are no provisions in the law to carry over unused visa
numbers.
The National Visa Center expects to complete the notification of the
winners in August. Only the winners will be notified. Applicants who
have not received their notifications by the end of August or early
September were not selected and may wish to check the lottery hotline at
(202) 663-1600 for updates on next year's lottery, the dates of which
have not yet been scheduled.
The following is the statistical breakdown by foreign state
chargeability of
those registered for the DV-96 program:
I. AFRICA - (20,426 visas are available in fiscal year 1996):
ALGERIA (1,100) GABON (17) NIGERIA (6,874)
ANGOLA (44) GAMBIA, THE (189) RWANDA (39)
BENIN (78) GHANA (6,815) SAO TOME & PRINCIPE (0)
BOTSWANA (11) GUINEA (288) SENEGAL (870)
BURKINA FASO (15) GUINEA-BISSAU (14) SEYCHELLES (3)
BURUNDI (41) KENYA (956) SIERRA LEONE (1,091)
CAMEROON (582) LESOTHO (4) SOMALIA (1,368)
CAPE VERDE (109) LIBERIA (895) SOUTH AFRICA (1,221)
CENTRAL AF. REP. (20) LIBYA (57) SUDAN (1,335)
CHAD (16) MADAGASCAR (22) SWAZILAND (0)
COMOROS (1) MALAWI (27) TANZANIA (395)
CONGO (1) MALI (131) TOGO (275)
COTE D'IVOIRE (494) MAURITANIA (25) TUNISIA (246)
DJIBOUTI (25) MAURITIUS (42) UGANDA (381)
EGYPT (4,056) MOROCCO (677) ZAIRE (269)
EQUATORIAL GUINEA (1) MOZAMBIQUE (27) ZAMBIA (132)
ERITREA (540) NAMIBIA (4) ZIMBABWE (206)
ETHIOPIA (4,413) NIGER (16)
II. ASIA - (7,087 visas are available for fiscal year 1996):
AFGHANISTAN (164) ISRAEL (122) OMAN (0)
BAHRAIN (1) JAPAN (358) PAKISTAN (3,000)
BANGLADESH (6,867) JORDAN (60) QATAR (1)
BHUTAN (0) NORTH KOREA (9) SAUDI ARABIA (21)
BRUNEI (0) KUWAIT (23) SINGAPORE (21)
BURMA (197) LAOS (7) SRI LANKA (260)
CAMBODIA (30) LEBANON (70) SYRIA (68)
HONG KONG (377) MALAYSIA (125) THAILAND (88)
INDONESIA (232) MALDIVES (0) UNITED ARAB EM. (4)
IRAN (436) MONGOLIA (0) YEMEN (30)
IRAQ (82) NEPAL (124)
(Asia countries that did not qualify for this year's DV-96 are:
CHINA - mainland born and Taiwan born, INDIA, SOUTH KOREA,
PHILIPPINES, and VIETNAM.)
III. EUROPE (24,257 visas for fiscal year 1996):
ALBANIA (2,424) GREECE (261) N. IRELAND (252)
ANDORRA (0) HUNGARY (481) NORWAY (198)
ARMENIA (2,001) ICELAND (77) POLAND (7,639)
AUSTRIA (205) IRELAND (1,774) PORTUGAL (443)
AZERBAIJAN (541) ITALY (582) Macau (222)
BELARUS (609) KAZAKSTAN (428) ROMANIA (2,971)
BELGIUM (287) KYRGYZSTAN (38) RUSSIA (4,189)
BOSNIA & HERZ. (266) LATVIA (167) SAN MARINO (0)
BULGARIA (1,177) LIECHTENSTEIN (7) SERBIA AND
CROATIA (358) LITHUANIA (777) MONTENEGRO (817)
CYPRUS (58) LUXEMBOURG (11) SLOVAKIA (696)
CZECH REPUBLIC (230) MACEDONIA, THE SLOVENIA (14)
DENMARK (116) FORMER YUGOSLAV SPAIN (318)
ESTONIA (91) REPUBLIC OF (481) SWEDEN (815)
FINLAND (300) MALTA (20) SWITZERLAND (398)
FRANCE (538) MOLDOVA (310) TAJIKISTAN (73)
Guadeloupe (1) MONACO (0) TURKEY (3,149)
Martinique (3) NETHERLANDS (525) TURKMENISTAN (48)
GEORGIA (410) UKRAINE (4,090)
GERMANY (2,179) UZBEKISTAN (375)
VATICAN CITY (0)
(The United Kingdom (Great Britain) did not qualify for this year's DV-
96 program; Northern Ireland did qualify, however, and is noted in the
listings.)
IV. NORTH AMERICA (8 visas for fiscal year 1996):
BAHAMAS, THE (37)
(The Bahamas is the only country that qualified in this region for this
year's DV-96 program. Canada does not qualify.)
V. OCEANIA (815 visas for fiscal year 1996):
AUSTRALIA (260) MICRONESIA, FED.(0) PAPUA NEW GUINEA (1)
FIJI (1,116) STATES OF SOLOMON ISLANDS (0)
KIRIBATI (0) NAURU (0) TONGA (51)
MARSHALL ISLANDS (0) NEW ZEALAND (141) TUVALU (0)
PALAU (0) VANUATU (0)
WESTERN SAMOA (17)
VI. S. AMERICA, C. AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN (2,407 visas for fiscal
year 1996):
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA (7) DOMINICA (26) PERU (636)
ARGENTINA (154) ECUADOR (630) ST. KITTS & NEVIS (1)
BARBADOS (24) GRENADA (42) SAINT LUCIA (19)
BELIZE (5) GUATEMALA (308) ST. VINCENT AND (13)
BOLIVIA (98) GUYANA (113) THE GRENADINES
BRAZIL (389) HAITI (108) SURINAME (21)
CHILE (72) HONDURAS (191) TRINIDAD AND
COLOMBIA (2) NICARAGUA (383) TOBAGO (328)
COSTA RICA (21) PANAMA (31) URUGUAY (50)
CUBA (535) PARAGUAY (16) VENEZUELA (188)
(Countries in this region that did not qualify for this year's DV-96
program are: COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EL SALVADOR, JAMAICA,
MEXICO.)
F. RECENT AMENDMENTS TO THE VISA PORTION OF THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS MANUAL
(FAM)
Transmittal Letters VISA-114 dated June 16, 1995, VISA-115 dated June
19, 1995, VISA-116 dated June 20, 1995, VISA-117 dated June 21, 1995,
VISA-118 dated June 30, 1995, and VISA-119 dated July 3, 1995, which
updated the visa portion (Vol. 9) of the FAM, are now available.
VISA-114 contains the introduction to the newly created Appendix C in
Part IV of the FAM which replaces the introductory material to former
Appendix B/C/E. VISA-115 amends 9 FAM, Part II, Sections 41.55 Notes
and Exhibit I. VISA-116 provides a new 9 FAM Transmittal Letter
Checklist. VISA-117 amends Parts II and III, Sections 41.3;
42.32(d)(6), and 42.32(d)(7) Regulations/Statutes. VISA-118 makes minor
changes to Part I, Section 40.63 Notes. VISA-119 restructures parts of
9 FAM, Part IV.
There is a charge of $13.50 per copy of VISA-114, $1.75 per copy of
VISA-115, $.75 per copy of VISA-116, $1.25 per copy of VISA-117, $2.50
per copy of VISA-118, and $30.50 per copy of VISA-119. A check payable
to the Department of State must accompany the order. These TLs may be
obtained from:
Distribution Services (OIS/PS/PR)
Room B847 A
Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
OBTAINING THE MONTHLY VISA BULLETIN: The Department of State's Bureau
of Consular Affairs now offers the monthly "Visa Bulletin" on the
INTERNET. The INTERNET address to access the Bulletin is
dosfan.lib.uic.edu. From the gopher menu, select Travel Information and
you will find the Visa Bulletin in the Bureau of Consular Affairs
section.
In addition to the INTERNET, the "Visa Bulletin" can be accessed and
downloaded from the Consular Affairs electronic bulletin board. Those
with a computer and modem should dial (202) 647-9225. No password or
special software are required.
Individuals may also obtain the "Visa Bulletin" by FAX. From a FAX
phone, dial (202) 647-3000. Follow the prompts and enter in the code
1038 to have the Bulletin FAXed to you.
To be placed on the Department of State's Visa Bulletin mailing list,
please write to: Visa Bulletin, Visa Office, Department of State,
Washington, D.C. 20522-0113. Only addresses within the U.S. postal
system may be placed on the mailing list. Please include a recent
mailing label when reporting changes or corrections of address; the
Postal Service does NOT automatically notify the Visa Office of address
changes. (Obtaining the Visa Bulletin by mail is a much slower option
than any of the alternatives mentioned above.)
Department of State Publication 9514
CA/VO:August 8, 1995
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