United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs

VISA BULLETIN

IMMIGRANT NUMBERS FOR JUNE 2005

A. STATUTORY NUMBERS

1. This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during
June. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State
documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; the Bureau
of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland
Security reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were
made, to the extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand
received by May 10th in the chronological order of the reported priority
dates. If the demand could not be satisfied within the statutory or
regulatory limits, 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
date earlier than the cut-off date may be allotted a number. Immediately
that 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.

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. 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: 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.

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 P.L. 102-395.

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.)

*NOTE: For June, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to
applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 22APR98. 2A
numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable
to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 22APR98 and
earlier than 22APR01. (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.)

Priority Dates for Employment-Based Immigrant Visas

* China (mainland born)

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.

B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY

Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides a maximum of
up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to permit immigration
opportunities for persons from countries other than the principal sources of
current immigration to the United States. The Nicaraguan and Central
American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 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 reduction has resulted in the DV-2005 annual
limit being reduced 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 June, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified
DV-2005 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:

All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately
Region
AFRICA AF 28,450 Except Nigeria 21,400
ASIA AS 7,900 Except Bangladesh 5,975
EUROPE EUR 20,500 Except Poland 20.000
Except Ukraine 5,750
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) NA 13
OCEANIA OC 1,000
SOUTH AMERICA and the CARIBBEAN SA 1,775

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-2005 program ends as of September 30, 2005. DV visas may not be issued
to DV-2005 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children
accompanying or following to join DV-2005 principals are only entitled to
derivative DV status until September 30, 2005. DV visa availability through
the very end of FY-2005 cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be
exhausted prior to September 30. Once all numbers provided by law for the
DV-2005 program have been used, no further issuances will be possible.

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

For July, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified
DV-2005 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:

All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately
Region
AFRICA AF 32,800 Except Ethiopia 29,400
Except Nigeria 23,300
ASIA AS 9,200 Except Bangladesh 6,700
EUROPE EUR 20,500 Except Ukraine 10,800
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) NA 13
OCEANIA OC 1,180
SOUTH AMERICA and the CARIBBEAN SA 1,800

D. RETROGRESSION OF THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED THIRD PREFERENCE “OTHER WORKER”
CATEGORY FOR JUNE
As mentioned in the Visa Bulletin announcing the May cut-off dates, demand
for visa numbers in the Employment Other Worker category has remained
extremely high despite the imposition of a cut-off date. As a result, it
has been necessary to retrogress the June cut-off date in an attempt to hold
number use within the annual limit. It is likely that the limit will be
reached sometime during June, and the category would immediately become
“unavailable”.

E. VISA AVAILABILITY DURING THE REMAINDER OF FY-2005

Employment-based: During the past month there has been a significant
increase in the amount of numbers being used by Citizenship and Immigration
Service (CIS) offices for adjustment of status applicants. This level of
demand has significantly depleted the supply of Employment-based numbers
available under the annual limit. Recent discussions with CIS have made it
clear that their backlog reduction efforts will sustain or increase the
current level of demand. Therefore, continued visa availability in the
Employment-based categories cannot be guaranteed during the final quarter of
FY-2005. If demand continues at the current rate, it will be necessary to
oversubscribe many or all of the Employment categories on a Worldwide basis.
Such oversubscription could result in the establishment of cut-off dates,
retrogression of already established dates, or some categories becoming
“unavailable”.

Mexico: Heavy applicant demand in all of the Mexico Family-sponsored
categories is causing the issuance level to approach the annual limit. It
is likely that many of the Mexico cut-off dates will be retrogressed during
the final months of FY-2005.

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