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.
Second : Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents.
A. Spouses and Children.
B. Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older).
Third : Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens.
Fourth : Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens.
EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
First : Priority Workers.
Second : Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability.
Third : Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers.
Fourth : Certain Special Immigrants.
Fifth : Employment Creation.
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.)
| Fam-ily | All Charge- ability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA-mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPP-INES |
| 1st | 22MAY02 |
22MAY02 |
22MAY02 |
22SEP92 | 01JUN93 |
| 2A | 01APR04 | 01APR04 | 01APR04 | 01AUG01 | 01APR04 |
| 2B | 15FEB00 | 15FEB00 | 15FEB00 | 01MAY92 | 15JUL97 |
| 3rd | 22JUL00 | 22JUL00 | 22JUL00 | 01OCT92 | 15MAY91 |
| 4th | 01JAN98 | 15JUL97 | 15SEP97 | 15FEB95 | 15APR86 |
*NOTE: For July, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit will be unavailable because the annual limit for such visas will have been reached. This will only impact the processing of Mexico F2A applicants.
All |
CHINA- mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIP-PINES | |
| Employ-ment -Based |
|||||
| 1st | C | C | C | C | C |
| 2nd | C | 01JUN04 | 01JUN03 | C | C |
| 3rd | 01MAY05 | 01FEB02 | 01OCT01 | 01SEP02 | 01MAY05 |
| Other Workers |
15JAN03 | 15JAN03 | 15JAN03 | 15JAN03 | 15JAN03 |
| 4th | C | C | C | C | C |
| Certain Religious Workers | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th | C | C | C | C | C |
| Targeted Employ-ment Areas/ Regional Centers |
C | C | C | C | C |
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.
Employment Third Preference Other Workers Category: Section 203(e) of the NACARA, 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.
