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Visa Bulletin Update: May 2013
Visa Bulletin Update: May 2013
By Ari Sauer, immigration lawyer with the Memphis, Tennessee office of the Siskind Susser Law Firm.
The US Department of State has issued the May 2013 Visa Bulletin. The DOS Visa Bulletin lists visa availability to let foreign nationals know when they can file an immigrant visa application or application for adjustment of status to obtain a green card as a US permanent resident. The dates listed are the priority dates for immigrant petitions (I-130, I-140, I-360) or Diversity (DV) Lottery winner case numbers. A visa is available if your priority date or an earlier date is listed for your category and country of chargeability or if your DV Lottery case number or a larger number is listed.
1) To read the visa bulletin, first find the appropriate chart for your case: Family Based immigrant petitions; Employment Based immigrant petitions; or the Diversity Visa Lottery.
2) Next locate the appropriate column or row for your country of chargeablity. If your country is not listed, you would fall within the All Chargeability category. The DV lottery is listed by region instead of country although some countries within a region will be listed separately.
3) For the Family or Employment charts, locate your appropriate visa preference category from the rows listed on the left (F1 through F4 or EB-1 through EB-5).
4) Compare the priority date listed on the Visa Bulletin to the priority date for your petition. For the DV Lottery, compare the number listed on the Visa Bulletin to the number listed on your Congratulatory Notice.
The May 2013 Visa Bulletin becomes effective on May 1, 2013. Until then the April 2013 Visa Bulletin remains in effect. If you file a visa application or application for adjustment of status too early, your application will be rejected or denied.
FAMILY BASED IMMIGRATION CATEGORIES
Immediate Relatives: Spouses, Parents, and Unmarried Children Under 21 of US Citizens: Immediate Relative petitions do not have a limit on visa availability. They are not listed on the Visa Bulletin because there is no wait for a visa to become available for Immediate Relative petitions.
First Preference (F1) Umarried Sons and Daughters of US Citizens: Visa availability for the Philippines moved forward another 3.5 months from February 15, 1999 to June 1, 1999. Availability for Mexico moved forward a week from August 1, 1993 to August 8, 1993. Availability for everyone else moved from March 8, 2006 to April 1, 2006.
Second Preference (F2A) Spouses and Unmarried Children Under 21 of US Permanent Residents: Visa availability for Mexico moved from December 1, 2010 to February 1, 2011. Availability for all other countries moved forward 2.5 months from December 15, 2010 to March 1, 2011.
Second Preference (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters Over 21 of US Permanent Residents: Visa availability for the Philippines moved from July 15, 2002 to September 8, 2002. Availability for Mexico moved from February 22, 1993 to May 1, 1993. Availability for all other countries moved from April 8, 2005 to May 15, 2005.
Third Preference (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of US Citizens: Visa availability for the Philippines has moved from October 1, 1992 to October 22, 1992. Availability for Mexico has moved forward from March 22, 1993 to April 1, 1993. Availability for all other countries moved from July July 22, 2002 to August 8, 2002.
Fourth Preference (F4) Siblings of US Citzens: Visa availability for the Philippines moved this month from August 15, 1989 to October 1, 1989. Availability for Mexico only moved ahead one week from September 1, 1996 to September 8, 1996. Availability for all other countries did not move this month and remains at May 1, 2001.
EMPLOYMENT BASED IMMIGRATION CATEGORIES
First Preference (EB-1) Extraordinary Ability, Intracompany Transferee, or Outstanding Professor or Researcher: Visa availability in this category remains current for all countries.
Second Preference (EB-2) Advance Degree Professional, Exceptional Ability, or National Interest Waiver: Visas availability for India continues to remain at September 1, 2004. See my comments to last month’s visa bulletin for the DOS’s predictions for the EB-2 category for India. Availability for China has continued its pace of moving about 6 weeks per Visa Bulletin and has moved from April 1, 2008 to May 15, 2008. Visa availability for all other countries is current.
Third Preference (EB-3) Professional or Skilled Worker: Visa availability for the Philippines has moved forward from September 8, 2006 to September 15, 2006. Availability for India has moved from December 8, 2002 to December 22, 2002. Availability for China-mainland moved from April 22, 2007 to December 1, 2007. Availability for all other countries has moved from July 1, 2007 to December 1, 2007.
Third Preference (Other Workers) Unskilled Worker: Visa availability for the Philippines has moved forward from September 8, 2006 to September 15, 2006. Availability for India has moved from to December 8, 2002 to December 22, 2002. Availability for China-mainland moved from August 1, 2003 to September 1, 2003. Availability for all other countries has moved from July 1, 2007 to December 1, 2007.
Fourth Preference (EB-4) Certain Special Immigrants: Visa availability remains current for all countries.
Fourth Preference (Certain Religious Workers): Visa availability remains current for all countries.
Fifth Preference (EB-5) Investors: Visa availability remains current for all countries.
DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY
The DV-2013 visas are available as follows:
Egypt: 23,500
Ethiopia: 32,900
Nigeria: 17,000
All other Africa: 43,400
Asia: 7,850
Uzbekistan: 13,700
Europe: 27,500
N.A. Bahamas: 3
Oceania: 1,115
S.A. and Caribbean: 1,200
Click here to see the May 2013 Visa Bulletin.
- Call 901-507-4270 to schedule an appointment with me to discuss your visa application.
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By Ari Sauer
Submit questions to The Immigration Answer Man by emailing your question to immigrationanswerman@gmail.com or by posting your question onFacebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Questions submitted by email will be posted without personal information unless specifically requested. Due to the volume of questions received, not all questions submitted will be answered. Only general questions can be answered on this blog. For answers to specific questions about your situation, please schedule a consultation. Sending in a question by email or any other means does not create an attorney-client relationship.
* This is an advertisement. Ari Sauer is an attorney with the Siskind Susser law firm. www.visalaw.com/ari. On this blog we answer questions as a service to our readers, but we cannot assume any liability related to reliance on anything herein, and responses to questions are not intended to establish an attorney-client relationship. Immigration laws and regulations are constantly changing and the rules stated may not apply to your situation. Readers are cautioned to schedule a consultation with an immigration lawyer before acting on anything stated in this blog. This blog is not intended to substitute for a consultation with a qualified immigration law attorney. Ari Sauer is licensed to practice law through the states of Tennessee, New York and New Jersey but is eligible to assist clients from throughout the US. Certification as an Immigration Specialist is not currently available in Tennessee, New York or New Jersey. Siskind Susser limits its practice strictly to immigration law, a Federal practice area, and we do not claim expertise in the laws of states other than where our attorneys are licensed. the opinions expressed here are those of Ari Sauer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Siskind Susser.
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- What is my country of chargeability for the Visa Bulletin? (immigrationanswerman.com)
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Ari Sauer
Ari Sauer is an immigration law attorney with the Memphis office of the Siskind Susser law firm. Ari answers questions on US immigration law submitted by readers. Email Ari Sauer to submit a question. immigrationanswerman@gmail.com
Immigration Lawyer Ari Sauer - The Immigration Answer Man 
Maybe there’s an amendment that gives the 1% a $6.1 trillion tax break. But, if that were the case, I guess the Heritage Foundation would be either silent or cheering.Reply
May 6th, 2013 at 7:59 pm
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