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Immigration Numbers – Employment Based Preferences

This article summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during November. Allocations were made, to the extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand received by 8^th October in the chronological order of the reported priority dates. 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.

Employment-based Preferences

The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000.

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.

In the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed, current means that numbers are available for all qualified applicants; and unavailable means that no numbers are available.  Numbers are available only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below.

The Department of State has available a recorded message with visa availability information which can be heard at:  +1 202-663-1541. 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: The NACARA Act  states that once the Employment Third Preference Other Worker (EW) cutoff 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.