March 2009 Visa Bulletin

February 16, 2009

Employment-Based Priority Dates

Mexico priority dates moved up for EB3 to 15AUG03 while the Other Workers category for Mexico moved up to the worldwide date of 15MAR03. China and India are still seeing backlogs in EB2. Also note that the Nonminister Religious Worker category and the EB5 Pilot Program category will become unavailable on March 7 unless Congress extends these programs.

Family-Based Priority Dates

For March, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 15OCT01.  2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 15OCT01 and earlier than 01JUL04.  (All 2A numbers provided for MEXICO are exempt from the per-country limit; there are no 2A numbers for MEXICO subject to per-country limit.)

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.

Active Immigrant Visa Backlogs for Consular Processing

Most prospective immigrant visa applicants qualify for status under the law on the basis of family relationships or employer sponsorship.  Entitlement to visa processing in these classes is established ordinarily through approval by Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) of a petition filed on the applicant's behalf.  When such petitions are forwarded by CIS to the Department of State, applicants in categories subject to numerical limit are registered on the visa waiting list.  Each case is assigned a priority (i.e., registration) date based on the filing date accorded to the petition.  Visa issuance within each numerically limited category is possible only if the applicant's place on the waiting list has been reached, i.e., the case priority date is within the visa availability cut-off dates published each month by the Department of State.  Family and employment preference applicants wait for their visa numbers to become current within their respective categories on a worldwide basis according to priority date; a per-country limit on such preference immigrants set by INA 202 places a maximum on the amount of visas which may be issued in a single year to applicants from any one country, however.

The Department of State requested that the National Visa Center at Portsmouth, New Hampshire provide the totals of applicants on the waiting list in the various numerically-limited family immigrant categories.   Those totals are listed below, and reflect persons registered under each respective numerical limitation, i.e., the totals represent not only principal applicants or petition beneficiaries, but their spouses and children entitled to derivative status under INA 203(d) as well.  It should be noted that applications for adjustment of status under INA 245 which are pending at Citizenship and Immigration Services offices are not included in the totals which are being presented at this time.

Family-Sponsored Preference Categories

 Top Ten Countries

The ten countries with the highest number of waiting list registrants are listed below; together these represent 75.4% of the Department of State total.  This list includes all countries with at least 45,000 persons on the waiting list.  INA 202 sets an annual limit on the amount of family-sponsored preference visas which may be issued to applicants from any one country; the 2009 per-country limit is 15,820.