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January 31, 2017

2017 BULLETIN VISA

LAW OFFICES OF NORKA M. SCHELL, LLC

11 Broadway, Suite 615
New York, NY 10004
Tel. (212)564-1589
       (973)621-9300

Website: www.lawschell.com 


This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during February for: “Final

Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants 

should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa 

Center.

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First: (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.
Second: Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents:  114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:
A. (F2A) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents:  77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
B. (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents:  23% of the overall second preference limitation.
Third: (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.
Fourth: (F4) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens:  65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.
A.  FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED
     PREFERENCE CASES
On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); "C" means current, i.e., numbers are authorized for issuance to all qualified applicants; and "U" means unauthorized, i.e., numbers are not authorized for issuance. (NOTE: Numbers are authorized for issuance only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the final action date listed below.)
Family-
Sponsored 
All Chargeability 
Areas Except
Those Listed
CHINA-mainland 
born
INDIAMEXICOPHILIPPINES 
F122FEB1022FEB1022FEB1008MAY9501DEC05
F2A15APR1515APR1515APR1501APR1515APR15
F2B08JUL1008JUL1008JUL1008NOV9508APR06
F322MAR0522MAR0522MAR0515DEC9408SEP94
F408FEB0422JAN0415JUN0322MAY9722JUN93
22MAR05
22MAR05

B.  DATES FOR FILING FAMILY-SPONSORED
     VISA APPLICATIONS
The chart below reflects dates for filing visa applications within a timeframe justifying immediate action in the application process. Applicants for immigrant visas who have a priority date earlier than the application date in the chart below may assemble and submit required documents to the Department of State’s National Visa Center, following receipt of notification from the National Visa Center containing detailed instructions. The application date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who cannot submit documentation to the National Visa Center for an immigrant visa. If a category is designated “current,” all applicants in the relevant category may file applications, regardless of priority date.
The “C” listing indicates that the category is current, and that applications may be filed regardless of the applicant’s priority date. The listing of a date for any category indicates that only applicants with a priority date which is earlier than the listed date may file their application.
Visit www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo for information on whether USCIS has determined that this chart can be used (in lieu of the chart in paragraph 4.A.) this month for filing applications for adjustment of status with USCIS. 
Family-
Sponsored 
All Chargeability 
Areas Except
Those Listed
CHINA-
mainland 
born
INDIAMEXICOPHILIPPINES 
F101JAN1101JAN1101JAN1101JUN9501MAY06
F2A22NOV1522NOV1522NOV15 22NOV15 22NOV15
F2B08FEB1108FEB1108FEB1101JUN9601FEB07
F322AUG0522AUG0522AUG0501MAY9501JAN95
F401JUL0401JUL0401MAY0401DEC9701APR94
5.  Section 203(b) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Employment-based immigrant visas as follows: 
EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
First:  Priority Workers:  28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.
Second:  Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability:  28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.      
Third:  Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers:  28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to "*Other Workers".
Fourth:  Certain Special Immigrants:  7.1% of the worldwide level.
Fifth:  Employment Creation:  7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of Pub. L. 102-395.
A.  FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED
     PREFERENCE CASES
On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); "C" means current, i.e., numbers are authorized for issuance to all qualified applicants; and "U" means unauthorized, i.e., numbers are not authorized for issuance. (NOTE: Numbers are authorized for issuance only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the final action date listed below.)
Employ-
ment
based
All Charge-
ability 
Areas Except
Those Listed
CHINA-
mainland 
born
EL SALVADOR
GUATEMALA
HONDURAS
INDIAMEXICOPHILIPPINES
1stCCCCCC
2ndC15NOV12C15APR08CC
3rd01OCT16 01OCT1301OCT16 22MAR05 01OCT1615OCT11
Other Workers01OCT16 01DEC0501OCT16 22MAR0501OCT1615OCT11
4thCC15JUL15C15JUL15C
Certain Religious WorkersCC15JUL15C15JUL15C
5th
Non-Regional
Center
(C5 and T5)
C15APR14CCCC
5th
Regional
Center
(I5 and R5)
C15APR14CCCC

B.  DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED
     VISA APPLICATIONS
Employment-
based
All Chargeability 
Areas Except
Those Listed
CHINA-
mainland 
born
INDIAMEXICO PHILIPPINES 
1stCCCCC
2ndC01MAR1322APR09 CC
3rdC01MAY1401JUL05C01SEP13
Other WorkersC01AUG0901JUL05C01SEP13
4thCCCCC
Certain Religious WorkersCCCCC
5th
Non-Regional
Center
(C5 and T5)
C15JUN14CCC
5th
Regional
Center
(I5 and R5)
C15JUN14CCC


IMMIGRATION AND POLICY BY NYC BUSINESS IMMIGRATION LAWYER - Phone (212) 564-1589: LAW OFFICES OF NORKA M. SCHELL, LLC11 Broadway, S...

IMMIGRATION AND POLICY BY NYC BUSINESS IMMIGRATION LAWYER - Phone (212) 564-1589: LAW OFFICES OF NORKA M. SCHELL, LLC
11 Broadway, S...
: LAW OFFICES OF NORKA M. SCHELL, LLC 11 Broadway, Suite 615 New York, NY 10004 Tel. (212)564-1589         (973)621-9300 Websit...

WHO IS A REFUGEE?

LAW OFFICES OF NORKA M. SCHELL, LLC

11 Broadway, Suite 615
New York, NY 10004
Tel. (212)564-1589 
       (973)621-9300

Website: www.lawschell.com 


Refugee

Only a person outside her own state can qualify as a Convention refugee. 

Refuse law may be the world's most powerful international human rights mechanism. Not only do millions of people invoke its protections every year in countries spanning the globe, but they do so on the basis of a self-actuating mechanism of international law that, quite literally, allows at-risk persons to vote with their feet. This is because, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ("UNHCR") has insisted, refugee status is not a status that is granted by states; it is rather simply recognized by them: 

"A person is a refugee within the meaning of the 1951 Convention as soon as she fulfills the criteria contained in the definition. This would necessarily occur prior to the time at which her refugee status is formally determined. Recognition of her refugee status does not therefore make her a refugee but declares her to be one. She does not become a refugee because of recognition, but is recognized because she is a refugee." UNHC, Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, UN Doc. HCR/IP/4/Eng/REV.3 (2011). 

A person who is a refugee at international law is thus entitled in any of the nearly 150 state parties to the refugee regime to claim a powerful catalog of internationally binding rights - including not only critical civil rights, but also socio-economic rights and rights that enable pursuit of a solution to refugeehood. (Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted Jul. 28, 1951, entered into force Apr. 22, 1954.)
Because refugee status inheres by virtue of facts rather than formalities, the entitlement to these rights persists until and unless an individual is found not be a refugee. (J.C. Hathaway, The Rights of Refugees under International Law (2005).