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THE OCTOBER 2004 PRIORITY DATES
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
The priority date for Family Petitions under the F-3 Preference
Category (married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) moved forward
by 2 years and 8 months, and three other family petition categories
registered forward movements, as shown in the monthly Visa Bulletin
for October 2004, released by the State Department.
Despite the forward movement of priority dates in October, the
State Department recently announced that there might not be too
much more forward movement in the coming year. This is because
of "supply and demand". There simply are not enough
visas available in the annual allotment or "supply"
to meet the ever growing "demand" for visas. So, the
State Department has to allocate visas by moving the priority
dates forward (or backwards) to keep the supply of visas in line
with the annual allotment. The more a priority date moves forward,
the more people suddenly become eligible for visas. However, if
there are not enough visas, then the priority date cannot move
forward as quickly.
Both the USCIS (in the U.S.), and the Embassy, (outside the U.S.)
are allocated visas from the same source. In previous years, the
USCIS was backlogged in adjustment of status applications (interviews
for greencards in the U.S.), and was not making a big demand for
visas. So, the priority dates were moving forward at a nice pace,
since it was primarily the Embassy that was making a "demand"
on the supply of visas. Now that the USCIS is moving forward on
adjustment status applications, there is an increased demand for
visas, such that priority dates may not move forward as quickly,
simply to keep pace with the demand.
Petitions by Citizens:
The priority date for the First
Preference Category, F-1 (unmarried sons and daughters of U.S.
citizens, over 21 years of age) moved forward
by one month, from July 15, 1990 to August
15, 1990.
The Third Preference Category
F-3 (married sons and daughters of United States citizens)
jumped by 2 years and 7 months, from August 22, 1987 to April
1, 1990. In the last two months, the priority
date for the same category had moved backwards by a total of about
2 years and 6 months. (Note: There is now a difference of 4-1/2
months in priority dates between unmarried and married sons and
daughters of U.S. citizens.).
The Fourth Preference, F-4
(brothers and sisters of United States citizens)
moved forward by two months, from March 22, 1982 to May
22, 1982.
Petitions by Green Card Holders:
The Second Preference, F-2A
(spouse and minor children below 21 years of age, of green card
holders) of Family-Based Petitions moved forward
by 16 days, from April 15, 2000 to May
1, 2000.
The Second Preference, F-2B
(unmarried sons and daughters, over 21 years of age, of green
card holders), did not move, and remained at July
1, 1995.
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 October 2004
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)
|
August 15, 1990
(In September 2004, the priority date was July
15, 1990.)
|
| Second Preference |
2A. Spouse and minor children
(below 21 years old) of green card holder
2B. Unmarried sons and daughters (over 21
years old) of green card holder
|
May
1, 2000
(In September 2004, the priority date was April 15,
2000.)
July
1, 1995
(In September 2004, the priority date was also July
1, 1995.) |
| Third Preference |
Married sons and daughters of
U.S. Citizens |
April
1, 1990
(In September 2004, the priority date was August 22,
1987.) |
|
Fourth Preference
|
Brothers and sisters of U.S. Citizens
|
May
22, 1982
(In September 2004, the priority date was March 22,
1982.) |
| LABOR CERTIFICATION: |
| Third Preference |
Professional/Skilled Workers |
CURRENT
(In September 2004, the priority date was also current.)
|
| Other Workers |
Non-Skilled workers |
CURRENT
(In September 2004, the priority date was also current.)
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