The U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced immigrant visa availability numbers and priority date cut-offs in its latest December 2014 Visa Bulletin (FY 2015). Please note, when looking at the availability tables on the DOS website only applicants who have a priority date earlier than the cut-off date may be allotted a number. Family- and employment-based preference visa figures are reached, in part, after considering the number of qualified immigrant applicants for numerically-limited visas, as reported by consular officers, together with the number of applicants for Adjustment of Status (I-485), as reported by USCIS.

By way of background, the following explains briefly how the U.S. government determines its allotment of employment-based immigrant visas:

• The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) mandates the number of employment-based preference visas that can be issued annually

• A formula determines how many of those visas should be allocated to nationals of a given country

• Employment-based preference visas are thereafter issued in the order in which the applicant effectively filed his or her petition with the U.S. government

Note that spouses and unmarried children (less than 21 years of age) are entitled to the same immigration status conferred upon the primary beneficiary. The immigrant visas given to family members count towards a country’s assigned annual quota.

 Employment-Based Immigrant Visa Preference Categories: December 2014 Priority Dates