This column carries priority dates and other transitional information as taken from the U.S. State Depart­ment’s Visa Bulletin. The information below is from the Visa Bulletin for November 2007.

In the tables below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed. “Current” means that numbers are available for all qualified applicants. “Unavailable” means no numbers are available.

FAMILY PREFERENCE VISA DATES

Preference Dates for India

1st…………………December 8, 2001
2A…………………December 15, 2002
2B…………………September 15, 1998
3rd…………………March 1, 2000
4th…………………June 22, 1996

Note: For November, 2A numbers exempt from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than May 1, 2002. 2A numbers subject to per-country limits are available to applicants chargeable to all countries except Mexico with priority dates beginning May 1, 2002 and earlier than December 15, 2002.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA DATES

Preference Dates for India

1st………………………………….Current
2nd…………………………………April 1, 2004
3rd………………………………….April 22, 2001
Other Workers…………………..October 1, 2001
4th………………………………….Current
Certain Religious Workers…….Current
5th………………………………….Current
Targeted Employment Areas…Current

The Department of State has a recorded message with visa availability information at (202) 663-1541, which is updated in the middle of each month.

Source: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3827.h

Vandana Kumar is a publishing executive with a 36-year track record in the industry. She leads the India Currents Foundation as President and CEO. As a new immigrant, she co-founded India Currents magazine...