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THE JUNE 2001 PRIORITY DATES
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
The priority date for non-skilled workers under
employment-based petitions jumped one full year, to May 1, 1999,
as shown in the June 2001 Priority Dates listed in the
monthly Visa Bulletin released by the State Department.
At the same time, the priority dates of the F-3
and F-4 categories of the family-based petitions, which started
moving only last month, gained at least another week.
The priority dates for non-skilled workers
category under the Employment-Based Petitions moved forward
to May 1, 1999, from May 1, 1998.
The Second Preference, 2A (spouse and minor
children ² below 21 years of age - of green card holders)
of Family-Based Petitions remained at September 22,
1996.
The Second Preference, 2B (unmarried sons
and daughters, over 21 years of age, of green card holders)
also remained at June 22, 1993.
The First Preference Category, F-1 (unmarried
sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, over 21 years of age),
remained at May 22, 1988.
The priority date for the Fourth Preference,
F-4 (brothers and sisters of United States citizens),
which has not moved since April 2000, moved forward by one more
week, to August 15, 1979 from August 8, 1979.
The Third Preference Category F-3 (married
sons and daughters of United States citizens) of Family-Based
Petitions moved forward more than two weeks, to December 8,
1987 from November 22, 1987. (Note: there is a difference
of less than six months in priority dates between unmarried
and married adult children of U.S. Citizens (May
22, 1988 for single children versus December 8,
1987 for married children). So, single adult children
of U.S. citizens may wish to seek legal advice about marrying,
before they are processed for their visa or green card, since
the difference in waiting time is still small and they could possibly
include their spouse for a visa at the same time they are processed
for their own visa. (Note: children of green card holders
cannot marry, or their petition is void, as green card holder
parents can only petition unmarried children.)
The priority dates for professionals and skilled
workers, EB-3 remained current. This means those
who have INS-approved I-140 employment-based immigrant
petitions under the Third Preference (professionals and skilled
workers), may still file for adjustment of status, and
be processed for green cards in the U.S. (if they are already
in the U.S.). For nurses and physical therapists, INS regulations
for CGFNS have been published, such that nurses and physical therapists
would be eligible to adjust status or be processed for a visa.
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 June 2001 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)
|
May 22, 1988
(In May 2001, the priority date was the same.)
|
| Second Preference
|
2A. Spouse and minor children (below
21 years old) of green card holder |
September 22, 1996
(In May 2001, the priority date was the same.)
|
|
2B. Unmarried sons and daughters (over 21
years old) of green card holder
|
June 22, 1993
(In May 2001, the priority date was the same.) |
| Third Preference |
Married sons and daughters of U.S.
Citizens. |
December 8, 1987
(In May 2001, the priority date was the November 22, 1987.) |
| Fourth Preference |
Brothers and sisters of U.S. Citizens
|
August 15, 1979
(In May 2001, the priority date was the August 8, 1979.)
|
EMPLOYMENT-BASED PETITIONS (including
Labor Certification):
|
| Third Preference |
Professional/Skilled Workers |
CURRENT
(In May 2001, the priority date was also current) |
| Other Workers |
Non-Skilled workers |
May 1, 1999
(In May 2001, the priority date was May 1, 1998.) |
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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