Visa Bulletin For November 2011

Number 38
Volume IX
Washington, D.C.

A. STATUTORY NUMBERS

1. This bulletin summarizes the availability of
immigrant numbers duringNovember.
Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State
documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security
reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the
extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand
received by October 5th. If not all demand could be
satisfied, 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 dateearlier than the cut-off date may be allotted a
number. If 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 announced in this
bulletin.

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, 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.

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 isearlier than the cut-off date listed below.)

*NOTE: For November, F2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all
countries with priority dates earlier than 01DEC08. F2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country
limit are
available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 01DEC08
and earlier than 15FEB09. (All F2A numbers provided for MEXICO are exempt from the per-country limit;
there are no F2A numbers for MEXICO
subject to per-country limit.)

5. Section 203(b) of the INA prescribes preference
classes for allotment of Employment-based immigrant visas as
follows:         

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 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers
by Sec. 610 of Pub. L. 102-395.

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 isearlier than the cut-off date listed below.)

*Employment Third Preference Other Workers Category:
Section 203(e) of the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA)
passed by Congress in November 1997, as amended by Section 1(e) of Pub. L.
105-139, provides that once the Employment Third Preference Other Worker (EW)
cut-off date has reached the priority date of the latest EW petition approved
prior to November 19, 1997, the 10,000 EW numbers available for a fiscal year
are to be reduced by up to 5,000 annually beginning in the following fiscal year.
This reduction is to be made for as long as necessary to offset adjustments
under the NACARA program. Since the EW cut-off date reached November 19, 1997
during Fiscal Year 2001, the reduction in the EW annual limit to 5,000 began in
Fiscal Year 2002.

6. The Department of State has a recorded message with
visa availability information which can be heard at: (202) 663-1541. This
recording is updated on or about the tenth of each month with information on
cut-off dates for the following month.

B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY

Section 203(c) of the INA provides up to 55,000
immigrant visas each fiscal year to permit additional immigration opportunities
for persons from countries with low admissions during the previous five years.
The NACARA stipulates that beginning with DV-99, and for as long as necessary,
up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made
available for use under the NACARA program. This resulted in reduction of the DV-2012 annual
limit to 50,000. DV visas are divided among six geographic
regions. No one country can receive more than seven percent of the available
diversity visas in any one year.

For November, immigrant numbers in the
DV category are available to qualified DV-2012 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:

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-2012 program ends as of September 30, 2012. DV visas may not be
issued to DV-2012 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children
accompanying or following to join DV-2012 principals are only entitled to
derivative DV status until September 30, 2012. DV visa availability through the
very end of FY-2012 cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be exhausted
prior to September 30.

C. ADVANCE NOTIFICATION OF THE DIVERSITY
(DV) IMMIGRANT CATEGORY RANK CUT-OFFS WHICH WILL APPLY IN DECEMBER

For December,
immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2012
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:

D. CHINA-MAINLAND BORN AND INDIA
EMPLOYMENT-BASED SECOND PREFERENCE VISA AVAILABILITY IN THE COMING MONTHS

The November Employment-based Second preference cut-off
date for applicants from China
and India
is the most favorable since August 2007.  This advancement is expected to
generate significant levels of demand based on new filings for adjustment of
status at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices.  While
significant future cut-off date movements are anticipated, they may not be made
on a monthly basis.  Readers should not expect such movements to be the
norm throughout the fiscal year, and an eventual retrogression of the cut-off
at some point during the year is a distinct possibility.

E. OBTAINING THE MONTHLY VISA BULLETIN

The Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs
publishes the monthly Visa Bulletin on their website at www.travel.state.gov under the Visas
section. Alternatively, visitors may access the Visa Bulletin directly by going
to:

http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html.

To be placed on the Department of State’s E-mail
subscription list for the “Visa Bulletin”, please send an E-mail to the
following E-mail address:

listserv@calist.state.gov

and in the message body type:
Subscribe Visa-Bulletin First
name/Last name
(example: Subscribe Visa-Bulletin Sally
Doe)

To be removed from the Department of State’s E-mail
subscription list for the “Visa Bulletin”, send an e-mail message to the
following E-mail address:

listserv@calist.state.gov

and in the message body type:
Signoff Visa-Bulletin

The Department of State also has available a recorded
message with visa cut-off dates which can be heard at: (202) 663-1541. The
recording is normally updated by the middle of each month with information on
cut-off dates for the following month.

Readers may submit questions regarding Visa Bulletin
related items by E-mail at the following address:

VISABULLETIN@STATE.GOV

(This address cannot be used to subscribe to the Visa
Bulletin.) 

Department of State Publication 9514

CA/VO: October 5, 2011