March 2013 US State Department Visa Bulletin

Visa Bulletin

Every month, DC immigration lawyers Beach-Oswald update the State Department Visa Bulletin for the current month. Immigrant visas are numerically limited by category and by country of chargeability (which is, in most cases one's country of birth). What follows is the visa bulletin showing backlogs in each immigrant visa category for the month of March 2013.

Persons born in countries other than India, China, Mexico and the Philippines should look in the "Worldwide" current on the left side of the page to determine their "priority date." A priority date is established by the submission of a relative visa petition in the family categories, and by either the submission of an application for alien labor certification or by the submission of an employment-based visa petition in the employment categories.

The word "Current" indicates that no backlog presently exists in a particular category. Alternately, the word "Unavailable" indicates that it is not possible to apply for permanent residence in that category.

If you are unfamiliar with the U.S. State Department Visa Bulletin, click here for an explanation of the Family Categories and here for an explanation of the Employment Categories. The entire Visa Bulletin for March 2013 can be found here.

The dates in the Visa Bulletin can be misleading. Some dates, particularly in the Employment Based Categories, are "current" now, but may backlog before you can say "I-485". Others, particularly in the Family Based Categories, look closer on the Bulletin than they are in reality. To see the rate of advance in a particular category, check the State Department's Visa Bulletin Archive. This allows you to see Visa Bulletins from February 1995 to the present.

The Department of State has released the March 2013 Visa Bulletin HERE.

Section C addresses advance notification of the diversity (DV) immigrant category rank cut-offs which will apply in April. Section D addresses retrogression of family preference cut-off dates.

*NOTE:  For March, F2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 15NOV10.  F2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 15NOV10 and earlier than 22NOV10.  (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.)

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); "Current" means that the numbers are available for all qualified applicants; and "Unavailable" means that no numbers are available. (NOTE: Numbers are available only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below.)

Start Today

If you would like to arrange for a personal consultation with a US immigration attorney, please click here, or contact us by telephone at (202) 331-3074, or e-mail at info@boilapc.com. We look forward to assisting you.