Visa Bulletin
Number 96 – Volume IX
Washington, D.C.
SEPTEMBER 2016
As U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has indicated at www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo, USCIS will use the chart below to determine who may file applications for adjustment of status (Form I-485) with USCIS during the month of September. Only applicants with Priority Dates earlier than the cut-off dates listed below may file their I-485 adjustment of status applications with USCIS during September.
| Family-Sponsored | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA-mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 15SEP09 | 15SEP09 | 15SEP09 | 22MAR95 | 01JUL05 |
| F2A | 15NOV14 | 15NOV14 | 15NOV14 | 01SEP14 | 15NOV14 |
| F2B | 01FEB10 | 01FEB10 | 01FEB10 | 15SEP95 | 01DEC05 |
| F3 | 01DEC04 | 01DEC04 | 01DEC04 | 15NOV94 | 15JUN94 |
| F4 | 08OCT03 | 01JAN03 | 01JAN01 | 22APR97 | 01MAR93 |
| Employment-Based | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA-mainland born | EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | 01JAN10 | C | 01JAN10 | C | C |
| 2nd | 01FEB14 | 01JAN10 | 01FEB14 | 22FEB05 | 01FEB14 | 01FEB14 |
| 3rd | 01MAY16 | 01JAN10 | 01MAY16 | 15FEB05 | 01MAY16 | 01JUL10 |
| Other Workers | 01MAY16 | 01JAN04 | 01MAY16 | 15FEB05 | 01MAY16 | 01JUL10 |
| 4th | C | C | 01JAN10 | 01JAN10 | 01JAN10 | C |
| Certain Religious Workers | C | C | 01JAN10 | 01JAN10 | 01JAN10 | C |
| 5th Non-Regional Center | C | 15FEB14 | | C | C | C |
| 5th Regional Center | C | 15FEB14 | | C | C | C |
“C” = Current. No queue or backlog in this visa category at this time.
“U” = Unavailable. No visas available in this category at this time.
Excerpted from https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin/2016/visa-bulletin-for-September-2016.html
FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First: Unmarried Sons and Daughters of 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, and any unused first preference numbers:
A. Spouses and Children: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
B. Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older): 23% of the overall second preference limitation.
Third: Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.
Fourth: Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.
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 P.L. 102-395.