July 2017 Visa Bulletin

From the bulletin:

This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during July for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.

Unless otherwise indicated on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website at www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo , individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS in the Department of Homeland Security must use the “Final Action Dates” charts below for determining when they can file such applications. When USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for the fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, USCIS will state on its website that applicants may instead use the “Dates for Filing Visa Applications” charts in this Bulletin.

1. Procedures for determining dates. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; USCIS reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations in the charts below were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by June 9th . If not all demand could be satisfied, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The final action date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. If it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to retrogress a final action date, supplemental requests for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new final action date announced in this bulletin. If at any time an annual limit were reached, it would be necessary to immediately make the preference category “unavailable”, and no further requests for numbers would be honored.

2. Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets an annual minimum family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000. 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., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320.

3. 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, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, INDIA, MEXICO, and PHILIPPINES.

4. Section 203(a) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Family-sponsored immigrant visas as follows:

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES

First : ( F1 ) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. 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, plus any unused first preference numbers:

A. ( F2A ) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;

B. ( F2B ) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents: 23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Third : ( F3 ) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth : ( F4 ) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

In plain words: “Unavailable” (“U”) means paused; “retrogress” means move back; “chargeability area” means country of birth; “final action date” means approval date; “date for filing” means filing date.

From the bulletin:

For August , immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2017 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:

Region

All DV Chargeability Areas

Except Those Listed Separately

AFRICA

Current

Except:

Egypt: 30,600

ASIA

Current

Except:

Nepal: 7,075

EUROPE

Current

Except:

Uzbekistan: 13,300

NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS)

Current

OCEANIA

Current

SOUTH AMERICA,

and the CARIBBEAN

Current

In plain words: “Current” (“C”) means open to everyone; “chargeability area” means country of birth.

From the bulletin:

CHINA Employment-based Third (E3) preference category: Readers were advised in item F of the June Visa Bulletin number 6, that it would be necessary to impose a date no later than August. The continued high level of demand for E3 numbers for USCIS adjustment of status applicants has required the establishment of a date for July. This has been done in an attempt to hold number use within the China E3 annual limit. The China E3 date will return to October 1, 2014 for October, the first month of fiscal year 2018.

INDIA Employment-based Fourth (E4) AND Certain Religious Workers (SR) preference categories: As readers were advised in the June Visa Bulletin number 6, there has been extremely high demand in the E4 and SR categories. Pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, it has been necessary to impose E4 and SR Final Action Dates for India, which has reached its per-country limit. This action will allow the Department to hold worldwide number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2017 annual limits.

The date for these preferences will once again become CURRENT for October, the first month of fiscal year 2018.

In plain words: “final action date” means approval date.

From the bulletin:

The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2018 diversity lottery. The diversity lottery was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and makes available *50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Approximately 115,968 applicants have been registered and notified and may now make an application for an immigrant visa. Since it is likely that some of the first *50,000 persons registered will not pursue their cases to visa issuance, this larger figure should insure that all DV-2018 numbers will be used during fiscal year 2018 (October 1, 2017 until September 30, 2018).

Applicants registered for the DV-2018 program were selected at random from 14,692,258 qualified entries (23,088,613 with derivatives) received during the 34-day application period that ran from noon, Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, October 4, 2016, until noon, Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, November 7, 2016. The visas have been apportioned among six geographic regions with a maximum of seven percent available 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 notification letter and must fully complete the information requested.

Registrants living legally in the United States who wish to apply for adjustment of their status must contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for information on the requirements and procedures. Once the total *50,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2018 will end. Selected applicants who do not receive visas by September 30, 2018 will derive no further benefit from their DV-2018 registration. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2018 principal applicants are only entitled to derivative diversity visa status until September 30, 2018.

Dates for the DV-2019 program registration period will be widely publicized in the coming months. Those interested in entering the DV-2019 program should check the Department of State’s Visa web page in the coming months.

*The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulated that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas be made available for use under the NACARA program. The reduction of the limit of available visas to 50,000 began with DV-2000.

The following is the statistical breakdown by foreign state of chargeability of those registered for the DV-2018 program:

AFRICA

ALGERIA 2,897

ETHIOPIA 4,496

NIGER 57

ANGOLA 184

GABON 41

RWANDA 542

BENIN 611

GAMBIA, THE 64

SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE 0

BOTSWANA 10

GHANA 3,549

SENEGAL 400

BURKINA FASO 317

GUINEA 1,470

SEYCHELLES 0

BURUNDI 193

GUINEA-BISSAU 5

SIERRA LEONE 1,790

CABO VERDE 24

KENYA 2,997

SOMALIA 436

CAMEROON 3,720

LESOTHO 4

SOUTH AFRICA 500

CENTRAL AFRICAN REP. 17

LIBERIA 3,989

SOUTH SUDAN 34

CHAD 85

LIBYA 441

SUDAN 3,781

COMOROS 7

MADAGASCAR 50

SWAZILAND 3

CONGO 240

MALAWI 36

TANZANIA 173

CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE 4,497

MALI 126

TOGO 1,667

COTE D’IVOIRE 1,029

MAURITANIA 79

TUNISIA 181

DJIBOUTI 121

MAURITIUS 24

UGANDA 485

EGYPT 4,495

MOROCCO 2,719

ZAMBIA 68

EQUATORIAL GUINEA 11

MOZAMBIQUE 6

ZIMBABWE 149

ERITREA 556

NAMIBIA 16

ASIA

AFGHANISTAN 636

JAPAN 263

QATAR 46

BAHRAIN 14

JORDAN 447

SAUDI ARABIA 489

BHUTAN 16

NORTH KOREA 1

SINGAPORE 43

BRUNEI 2

KUWAIT 167

SRI LANKA 777

BURMA 209

LAOS 6

SYRIA 414

CAMBODIA 390

LEBANON 221

TAIWAN 318

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMIN. REGION 84

MALAYSIA 70

THAILAND 60

INDONESIA 167

MALDIVES 4

TIMOR-LESTE 0

IRAN 4,500

MONGOLIA 197

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 197

IRAQ 754

NEPAL 4,097

YEMEN 1,239

ISRAEL 159

OMAN 10

EUROPE

ALBANIA 4,484

GREECE 171

NORTHERN IRELAND 16

ANDORRA 0

HUNGARY 205

NORWAY 47

ARMENIA 2,844

ICELAND 13

Svalbard 1

AUSTRIA 89

IRELAND 123

POLAND 863

AZERBAIJAN 961

ITALY 546

PORTUGAL 84

BELARUS 1,466

KAZAKHSTAN 1,020

Macau 5

BELGIUM 86

KOSOVO 464

ROMANIA 516

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA 92

KYRGYZSTAN 753

RUSSIA 4,500

BULGARIA 776

LATVIA 91

SAN MARINO 0

CROATIA 63

LIECHTENSTEIN 0

SERBIA 560

CYPRUS 19

LITHUANIA 257

SLOVAKIA 82

CZECH REPUBLIC 95

LUXEMBOURG 2

SLOVENIA 10

DENMARK 45

MACEDONIA 514

SPAIN 311

Faroe Islands 2

MALTA 2

SWEDEN 130

ESTONIA 61

MOLDOVA 1,418

SWITZERLAND 85

FINLAND 68

MONACO 3

TAJIKISTAN 1,209

FRANCE 649

MONTENEGRO 38

TURKEY 4,390

French Polynesia 15

NETHERLANDS 79

TURKMENISTAN 306

New Caledonia 2

Aruba 8

UKRAINE 4,478

GEORGIA 1,195

Curacao 10

UZBEKISTAN 4,494

GERMANY 886

Sint Maarten 4

VATICAN CITY 0

NORTH AMERICA

BAHAMAS, THE 15

OCEANIA

AUSTRALIA 2,154

NEW ZEALAND 546

SAMOA 10

FIJI 900

Cook Islands 19

SOLOMON ISLANDS 10

KIRIBATI 18

Niue 1

TONGA 129

MARSHALL ISLANDS 0

Tokelau 2

TUVALU 0

MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF 6

PALAU 3

VANUATU 17

NAURU 25

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 23

SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA 2

DOMINICA 8

PARAGUAY 7

ARGENTINA 109

ECUADOR 1,228

SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS 1

BARBADOS 2

GRENADA 11

SAINT LUCIA 14

BELIZE 1

GUATEMALA 120

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES 8

BOLIVIA 52

GUYANA 10

SURINAME 6

CHILE 76

HONDURAS 144

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 79

COSTA RICA 66

NICARAGUA 51

URUGUAY 36

CUBA 733

PANAMA 22

VENEZUELA 2,209

Natives of the following countries were not eligible to participate in DV-2018: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born, excluding Hong Kong S.A.R., Macau, and Taiwan), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.