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THE AUGUST 2005 PRIORITY DATES
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
The priority dates for all family-based petitions moved forward by at least one week, as shown in the August 2005 monthly Visa Bulletin. However, visa numbers remained "unavailable" for both employment-based cases for professionals and skilled workers, and for "other" (unskilled) workers.
This means that these two employment categories have reached their annual limits, and no adjustment of status or immigrant visa issuance will be made from July through September. With the start of the new fiscal year in October, we hope visas will become available again in these categories. The State Department said it is not possible to make any estimates regarding potential cutoff dates at this time.
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 February 8, 1991 to March 8, 1991 .
The Third Preference Category F-3 (married sons and daughters of United States citizens ) moved forward by one week, from September 1, 1990 to September 8, 1990 . (Note: There is now a difference of 6 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 one month, from January 1, 1983 to February 1, 1983 .
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 two months, from May 22, 2001 to July 22, 2001 .
The Second Preference, F-2B (unmarried sons and daughters, over 21 years of age, of green card holders), moved forward by three weeks, from January 1, 1996 to January 22, 1996 .
Petitions by Employers:
The Third Preference (professionals and skilled workers) of Employment-Based Petitions (Labor Certification), remained unavailable. The last priority cutoff date was June 1, 2002 . The Third Preference (non-skilled workers), also remained unavailable, with the last cutoff date at January 1, 1999 .
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 August 2005 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)
|
March 8, 1991
(In July 2005, the priority date was February 8, 1991.)
|
| 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
|
July 22, 2001
(In July 2005, the priority date was
May 22, 2001.)
January 22, 1996
(In July 2005, the priority date was January 1, 1996.) |
| Third Preference |
Married sons and daughters of
U.S. Citizens |
September 8, 1990
(In July 2005, the priority date was September 1, 1990.) |
|
Fourth Preference
|
Brothers and sisters of U.S. Citizens
|
February 1, 1983
(In July 2005, the priority date was January 1, 1983.) |
| LABOR CERTIFICATION: |
| Third Preference |
Professional/Skilled Workers |
Unavailable
(In July 2005, the priority date was
also unavailable.)
|
| Other Workers |
Non-Skilled workers |
Unavailable
(In July 2005, the priority date was
also unavailable.)
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