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发帖数: 1972 | 1 Understanding Visa Bulletin Cut-Off Date Determination
http://us-non-immigrants.blogspot.com/2011/05/understanding-visa-bulletin-cut-off.html
The State Department (DOS) is responsible for the allocation of numerically
limited immigrant visa numbers under the authority granted by section 203 of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). These visa numbers are allocated
based on congressionally mandated preferences that assign an overall total,
limits for each category and per country limits within each category.
The Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting Division’s main responsibility is
the administration of the complex series of annual numerical limitations on
immigrant visas, subdivided by preference category and country, which are
set by the INA. Where demand exists, DOS goal is to have the issuance level
come as close as possible to 100% of the numbers available each year without
exceeding the limits that Congress has established. DOS also want to
maintain a steady flow of applications throughout the year to ensure
appropriate use of government resources and to provide good customer service
to applicants. Over the past years, DOS have a proven record of using over
95 percent of the annual worldwide numerical limit.
Role of USCIS
The Department works closely with United States Citizenship and Immigration
Service (USCIS) on data exchange to allow for maximum use of numbers under
the annual limits, and in a stable, predictable manner. This is extremely
important in the Employment based categories, where USCIS currently uses
approximately 90 percent of all available visa numbers. Section 203(g) of
the INA directs the Secretary of State to make reasonable estimates of
anticipated number use in order to maximize number use under annual limits.
When making such estimates it is necessary to take into consideration a
number of variables based on the best information which is available when
those estimates are being made. Should there be a change which could not be
anticipated it can have an impact on number use. This makes the
determination of the monthly cut-off date particularly difficult at the end
of the fiscal year since there is little if any time to make any necessary
adjustments. While DOS always strive to reach 100% goal of the numbers
allocated, increasing percentage above 95 percent is difficult given that
DOS is statutorily barred from exceeding the annual limits.
DOS working with USCIS, Consulates and Embassies
On any given day, immigrant visas are issued at about 130 embassies and
consulates overseas. Adjustments of status (which use the same numbers) are
granted at about 90 - 100 domestic USCIS offices. The State Department
tracks visa number usage and requests from consular sections around the
world and USCIS. On a monthly basis the Visa Office determines the number of
visas which can be allocated in each visa category and to each country on a
worldwide basis. The process developed for managing the numbers throughout
the year requires that numbers are made available by adjusting the cutoff
date for each category and each country on a monthly basis. Cutoff dates for
all countries except China, India, Mexico and the Philippines are currently
the same every month in every category. Because demand for numbers exceeds
annual per-country numerical limits for these four countries, they have
their own cutoff dates in some categories.
The monthly visa bulletin published by the Department and available on
website at www.Travel.State.Gov explains the allocation of visa numbers by
dates, the laws and the per country and per category limits.
As stated previously, DOS goal is to come as close as possible to the annual
limit without exceeding it. The Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting
Division maintains a database containing workload statistics for immigrant
visas issued at Foreign Service posts worldwide, and adjustment of status
cases at USCIS. DOS authorize numbers for USCIS applications as USCIS
request them, usually on a daily basis.
DOS in past has received several inquiries about the allocation of
Employment-Based Second Preference visa numbers to India and China. DOS want
to make clear that India is not receiving all of the extra numbers. They
are also available to China where the applicant’s priority date was earlier
than the posted cut-off date and are also available to applicants in any
other country with a current priority date and for which the interview is
completed and all required clearances received. These numbers are being made
available when current indications are that demand from “all other
countries” will not be sufficient to utilize all available Employment First
and Second preference numbers. Such numbers will be made available, as visa
numbers are always provided, in priority date order (the date petition to
accord immigrant status was filed with USCIS). India does have a larger
number of older petitions pending and therefore is likely to receive a
larger number of these visa numbers than China. The Department’s policy of
making the extra numbers available in priority date order is mandated by
Section 203(e) of the INA. This allocation of numbers based on priority date
means that China and India Second preference applicants will be subject to
exactly the same cut-off date.
VISA NUMBER Availability and Cut-Off Date Determination for Visa Bulletin
The Department of State is responsible for administering the provisions of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) relating to the numerical
limitations on immigrant visa issuances. It is a process that has evolved
through the years and will continue to do so as DOS use the best
technologies to improve communication with posts, applicants and colleagues
at USCIS.
At the beginning of each month, the Visa Office (VO) receives a report from
each consular post listing totals of documentarily qualified immigrant visa
applicants in categories subject to numerical limitation. Cases are grouped
in three different categories: 1) foreign state chargeability, 2) preference
and 3) priority date.
Foreign state chargeability for visa purposes refers to the fact that an
immigrant is chargeable to the numerical limitation for the foreign state or
dependent area in which the immigrant's place of birth is located.
Exceptions are provided for a child (unmarried and under 21 years of age) or
spouse accompanying or following to join a principal to prevent the
separation of family members or in a foreign state of which neither parent
was a native or resident. Alternate chargeability is desirable when the visa
cut-off date for the foreign state of a parent or spouse is more
advantageous than that of the applicant's foreign state.
Preference is the visa category that can be assigned as established by the
Immigration and Nationality Act based on relationships to U.S. citizens or
legal permanent residents. Family based immigration falls under two basic
categories: unlimited and limited. Preferences established by law for the
limited category are:
Family First Preference (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
and their minor children, if any.
Family Second Preference (F2): Spouses, minor children and unmarried sons
and daughters of lawful permanent residents.
Family Third Preference (F3): Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
and their spouses and minor children.
Family Fourth Preference (F4): Brothers and sisters of United States
citizens and their spouses and minor children provided the U.S. citizen is
at least 21 years of age.
Employment-based immigration also includes preferences; all of them are
subject to a limitation.
The Priority Date is normally the date on which the petition to accord the
applicant immigrant status was filed, normally with U.S. Citizenship and
immigration Service.
Visa Bulletin Cut-Off Date Determination
The Department of State Visa Office subdivides the annual preference and
foreign state limitations specified by the INA into monthly allotments. The
totals of documentarily qualified applicants which have been reported to VO
are compared each month with the numbers available for the next regular
allotment. The determination of how many numbers are available requires
consideration of several of variables, including: past number use; estimates
of future number use and return rates; and estimates of Citizenship and
Immigration Service demand based on cut-off date movements. Once this is
done, the cut-off dates are established and numbers are allocated to
reported applicants in order of their priority dates, the oldest dates first.
If there are sufficient numbers in a particular category to satisfy all
reported documentarily qualified demand, the category is considered "Current
". For example: If the monthly allocation target is 10,000 and DOS only have
5,000 applicants the category can be "Current”.
Whenever the total of documentarily qualified applicants in a category
exceeds the supply of numbers available for allotment for the particular
month, the category is considered to be "oversubscribed" and a visa
availability cut-off date is established. The cut-off date is the priority
date of the first documentarily qualified applicant who could not be
accommodated for a visa number. For example, if the monthly target is 10,000
and DOS have 25,000 applicants, then the goal would be to establish a cut-
off date so that only 10,000 numbers would be allocated. In this case, the
cut-off in the ideal world would be the priority date of the 10,001st
applicant.
Only persons with a priority date earlier than a cut-off date are entitled
to allotment of a visa number. Possible cut-off dates are the 1st, 8th, 15th
, and 22nd of any given month, since the Visa Office groups demand for
numbers under these dates. (Priority dates of the first through seventh of a
month are grouped under the 1st, the eighth through the fourteenth under
the 8th, etc.)
The Visa Office attempts to establish the cut-off dates for the following
month on or about the 8th of each month. The dates are immediately
transmitted to consular posts abroad and the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS), and also published in the Visa Bulletin and
online at the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site (www.travel.state.gov).
Visa allotments for use during that month are transmitted to consular posts.
USCIS requests visa allotments for adjustment of status cases only when all
other case processing has been completed.
CLARIFICATION OF SOME FREQUENTLY MISUNDERSTOOD POINTS
Applicants entitled to immigrant status become “documentarily qualified”
to apply for an immigrant visa (meaning they have all their documents
necessary for a visa interview and, if approved, for issuance) at their own
initiative and convenience. By no means has every applicant with a priority
date earlier than a prevailing cut-off date been processed for final visa
action. On the contrary, visa allotments are made only on the basis of the
total applicants reported documentarily qualified each month. Demand for
visa numbers can fluctuate from one month to another, with the inevitable
impact on cut-off dates.
If an applicant is reported documentarily qualified but allocation of a visa
number is not possible because of a visa availability cut-off date, the
demand is recorded at the Visa Office and an allocation is made as soon as
the applicable cut-off date advances beyond the applicant's priority date.
There is no need for such applicant to be reported a second time.
Visa numbers are always allotted for all documentarily qualified applicants
with a priority date before the relevant cut-off date, as long as the case
had been reported to the Visa Office in time to be included in the monthly
calculation of visa availability. Failure of visa number receipt by the
overseas processing office could mean that the request was not dispatched in
time to reach the Visa Office for the monthly allocation cycle, or that
information on the request was incomplete or inaccurate (e.g., incorrect
priority date).
Allocations to Foreign Service posts outside the regular monthly cycle are
possible in emergency or exceptional cases, but only at the request of the
office processing the case. Note that should retrogression of a cut-off date
be announced, the Visa Office can honor extraordinary requests for
additional numbers only if the applicant's priority date is earlier than the
retrogressed cut-off date.
Not all numbers allocated are actually used for visa issuance; some are
returned to VO and are reincorporated into the pool of numbers available for
later allocation during the fiscal year. The rate of return of unused
numbers may fluctuate from month to month, just as demand may fluctuate.
Lower returns mean fewer numbers available for subsequent reallocation.
Fluctuations can cause cut-off date movement to slow, stop, or even
retrogress. Retrogression is particularly possible near the end of the
fiscal year as visa issuance approaches the annual limitations.
Per-country limit: The annual per-country limitation of 7% is a cap, which
Visa issuances to any single country may not exceed. Applicants compete for
visas primarily on a worldwide basis. The country limitation serves to avoid
monopolization of virtually all the annual limitation by applicants from
only a few countries. This limitation is not a quota to which any particular
country is entitled, however. A portion of the numbers provided to the
Family Second preference category is exempt from this per-country cap.
The American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21) removed
the per-country limit in any calendar quarter in which overall applicant
demand for Employment-based visa numbers is less than the total of such
numbers available.
Applicability of Section 202(e): When visa demand by documentarily qualified
applicants from a particular country exceeds the amount of numbers
available under the annual numerical limitation, that country is considered
to be oversubscribed. Oversubscription may require the establishment of a
cut-off date which is earlier than that which applies to a particular visa
category on a worldwide basis. The prorating of numbers for an
oversubscribed country follows the same percentages specified for the
division of the worldwide annual limitation among the preferences. (Note
that visa availability cut-off dates for oversubscribed areas may not be
later than worldwide cut-off dates, if any, for the respective preferences.) |
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