THE JULY 2000 PRIORITY DATES
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
| Except for the Second Preference, F-2A, the priority dates in all categories under the Family-Based Petitions did not move at all, as shown in the July 2000 Priority Dates listed in the monthly Visa Bulletin released by the State Department.
The Second Preference, 2A (spouse and minor children ² below 21 years of age - of green card holders) of Family-Based Petitions moved forward just two weeks, from March 1, 1996 to March 15, 1996. Priority dates for all other Family-Based Petitions remained the same.
Each month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes the priority dates for that particular month. This means that visas would now be available for persons whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below:
The July, 2000 priority dates for the Philippines are as follows: |
| FAMILY CATEGORY: |
|
Priority Date: |
First Preference
|
Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (over 21 years of age)
|
April 8, 1988
(In June 2000, the priority date was the same.) |
Second Preference
|
2A. Spouse and minor children (below 21 years old) of green card holder
|
March 15, 1996
(In June 2000, the priority date was March 1, 1996.) |
|
2B. Unmarried sons and daughters (over 21 years old) of green card holder
|
February 15, 1993
(In June 2000, the priority date was the same.) |
Third Preference
|
Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
|
November 15, 1987
(In June 2000, the priority date was the same.) |
Fourth Preference
|
Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens
|
August 1, 1979
(In June 2000, the priority date was the same.) |
| EMPLOYMENT-BASED PETITIONS (including Labor Certification): |
Third Preference
|
Professional/Skilled Workers.
|
CURRENT
(In June 2000, the priority date was also current.) |
Other Workers
|
Non-Skilled workers
|
January 1, 1995
(In June 2000, the priority date was October 1, 1994.) |
| Many people are concerned about the slow movement of some family-based preference categories. Others may have been petitioned by an aging or sickly parent. (Once the petitioner dies, the petition is "automatically revoked".) If you are among them, you may wish to consider other, faster ways to immigrate, such as an employment-based petition (Labor Certification), which now takes approximately 3-4 years to process. An employer's petition could back-up a family petition. Remember, it is legal to be petitioned in as many ways as are legitimately available to a person, all at the same time. Therefore, a person can be petitioned by a relative and an employer, at the same time! |
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