subject: Dos Releases Visa Bulletin For November 2009 [print this page] The Visa Bulletin has been released for the month of November by the Department of State (DOS). This bulletin has information regarding immigration visa projections for family-based, employment-based, and diversity immigrant visas. The cut-off dates for various preference categories are also mentioned in the Visa Bulletin. Applicants who have filed in petitions before the dates mentioned in the Visa Bulletin are now being allotted green cards and visas. However, if the priority date is current but retrogressed, applicants have to wait till it gets current again.
Unmarried children of American citizens get the first preference among those who have applied for family-based immigration visas. The cut-off date in this category is January 22, 2004 for applicants from all countries. Unmarried sons and daughters and spouses and children of permanent residents get the second preference. Details about family-sponsored preference visas are specified in INA Section 203(e), Section 203 (d), and Section 202(e) under USA immigration law.
Among applicants who have applied for employment-based (EB) visas, the first preference is given to priority workers. The cut-off date for applicants in this category from all the countries is current. The second preference goes to professionals with advanced degrees and those with exceptional ability. While the cut-off dates have been changed to January 22, 2005 for India and April 1, 2005 for China in employment-based second preference category (EB-2), it remains current for other countries.
Persons interested in immigrating to the USA though the Diversity Immigration Visa (DV) category, where applicants are selected in lottery, can apply till the end of the fiscal year. The DV program for the year 2010 comes to close on September 30, 2010. Applicants will not be issued DV visas after this date. Spouses and children who want to join or accompany principals under derivative status too will not be eligible for DV visas if they register after this date.
