DOS Annual Immigrant Visa Waiting List Report

Immigrant Waiting List By Country
Immigrant visa issuances during fiscal year 2012 are limited by the terms of INA 201 to no more than 226,000 in the family-sponsored preferences and approximately 144,000 in the employment-based preferences. (Visas for "Immediate Relatives" - i.e., spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21 years, and parents - of U.S. citizens are not subject to numerical limitation, however.)

It should by no means be assumed that once an applicant is registered, the case is then continually included in the waiting list totals unless and until a visa is issued. The consular procedures mandate a regular culling of visa cases to remove from the count those unlikely to see further action, so that totals are not unreasonably inflated. If, for example, a consular post receives no response within one year from an applicant to whom the visa application instruction letter (i.e., the consular "Packet 3" letter) is sent when the movement of the visa availability cut-off date indicates a visa may become available within a reasonable time frame, the case is considered "inactive" under the consular procedures and is no longer included in waiting list totals.

The fourteen countries with the highest number of waiting list registrants in FY 2012 are listed below; together these represent 79.5% of the total. This list includes all countries with at least 60,000 persons on the waiting list. The per-country limit in INA 202 sets an annual maximum on the amount of preference visas which may be issued to applicants from any one country; the 2012 per-country limit will be approximately 25,900.

Immigrant Waiting List By Preference Category

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES

Family FIRST Preference
The worldwide Family FIRST preference numerical limitation is 23,400. The top ten countries with the highest F-1 waiting list totals are:

Cases are being added to the waiting list in this category not only by the approval of new FIRST preference petitions, but also through automatic conversion of pending 2B cases into FIRST preference upon the naturalization of the petitioner.

Given the 517,119 Family 2B waiting list and the several years' interval between 2B petition filing and visa issuance, it is likely that increasing numbers of petitioners will be naturalized and the petitions converted to Family FIRST preference long before 2B visas become available. The prospect is for increasing oversubscription in the FIRST preference, with slower advances in the worldwide cut-off date the consequence. Only two countries, Mexico and the Philippines, have FIRST preference cut-off dates which are earlier than the worldwide date.

Family SECOND Preference
The total Family SECOND preference waiting list figure is 839,755. Of these, 322,636 (38.4%) are spouses and children of permanent residents of the United States (the 2A class), and 517,119 (61.6%) are adult unmarried sons/daughters of permanent residents (the 2B class). The Family

SECOND preference represents 18.7% of the total Family preference waiting list. It will receive 114,200 visa numbers for FY 2012, just over half of the 226,000 family preference total; 77% of SECOND preference numbers are provided to 2A applicants, while the remaining 23% go to the 2B class.

2A: About 88,000 visa numbers are expected to be available during FY 2012. The top five countries with the highest 2A waiting list totals are:

Upon naturalization of the petitioner, a pending 2A case is converted automatically into the "Immediate Relative" visa category, which is not subject to numerical limit and therefore has no visa waiting period. As a result, the amount of cases being processed in the "Immediate Relative" category may increase and partially offset new F2A filings.

2B: Visa numbers for this class of adult sons and daughters will be approximately 26,250 during FY 2012. The waiting list far exceeds the annual limit. The top ten countries with the highest 2B waiting list totals are:

 
As noted above, some of the 2B cases are applicants converted from the 2A class upon their turning 21.

Family THIRD Preference
The annual visa limit is 23,400. Two oversubscribed countries (Mexico and Philippines) have sufficiently heavy demand in this preference to require a cut-off date substantially earlier than the worldwide date. The top ten countries with the highest F-3 waiting list totals are:

Family FOURTH Preference
Applicants registered in the Family FOURTH preference total 2,519,623. Annual visa issuances are limited to 65,000. The waiting period for the Family FOURTH preference is longer than any other category because the demand severely exceeds the number of available visas. The countries listed below have the largest number of FOURTH preference applicants:

The steadily growing waiting period in this preference is now more than eleven years for countries of most favorable visa availability and even longer for some oversubscribed countries.
 

EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES

It is important to note that over eighty-five percent of all Employment preference immigrants are currently being processed as adjustment of status cases at CIS offices. Cases pending with CIS are not counted in the consular waiting list tally which is presented below. Therefore, in several Employment categories the waiting list totals being provided below understate real immigrant demand. The Employment waiting list counts not only prospective workers, but also their spouses and children entitled under the law to derivative preference status.

Employment FIRST Preference
Top countries are:

Visa availability is "current" for all countries.

Employment SECOND Preference
Top countries are:

This category is "current" at present for all but two countries.

Employment THIRD Preference:
Top countries are:

Employment Third “Other Workers”

With visa demand well in excess of the Employment Third Preference annual limits, a significant wait for a visa must be expected to continue for the indefinite future.

Employment FOURTH Preference
Top countries are:

Visa availability is "current" for all countries.

Employment FIFTH Preference
Top countries are:

Visa availability is "current" for all countries.

Family Immigrant Waiting List By Country
The seven countries with the highest number of Family-sponsored waiting list registrants are listed below; together these represent 66.5% of the total. This list includes all countries with at least 150,000 persons on the waiting list. (The per-country limit in INA 202 sets an annual maximum on the amount of Family preference visas which may be issued to applicants from any one country; the FY 2012 per-country limit will be 15,820.)

Family Preferences

Family Immigrant Waiting List By Region
A breakdown of the NVC waiting list by region is:

*North America includes Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

Employment Immigrant Waiting List By Country
The five countries with the highest number of Employment-based waiting list registrants are listed below; together these represent 77.3% of the total. This list includes all countries with at least 4,500 persons on the waiting list. (The per-country limit in INA 202 sets an annual maximum on the amount of Employment preference visas which may be issued to applicants from any one country; the FY 2012 per-country limit will be approximately 10,080.)

Employment Preferences

Employment Immigrant Waiting List By Region
A breakdown of the NVC waiting list by region is:

*North America includes Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.