TITLE II-IMMIGRATION NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS 31 SEC. 201. [8 U.S.C. 1151] (a) Exclusive of special immigrants defined in section 101(a)(27), immediate relatives specified in subsection (b) of this section, and aliens who are admitted or granted asylum under section 207 or 208, the number of aliens born in any foreign state or dependent area who may be issued immigrant visas or who may otherwise acquire the status of an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence, shall not in any of the first three quarters of any fiscal year exceed a total of seventy-two thousand and shall not in any fiscal year exceed two hundred and seventy thousand: Provided, 32 That to the extent that in a particular fiscal year the number of aliens who are issued immigrant visas or who may otherwise acquire the status of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and who are subject to the numerical limitations of this section, together with the aliens who adjust their status to aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence pursuant to subparagraph (H) of section 101(a)(27) or section 19 of the Immigration and Nationality Amendments Act of 1981,31 exceed the annual numerical limitation in effect pursuant 31 § 19 of The Immigration and Nationality Amendments Act of 1981 (Pub. L. 97-116, Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1621) provides as follows: SEC. 19. The numerical limitations contained in sections 201 and 202 of the Immigration and Nationality Act shall not apply to any alien who is present in the United States and who, on or before June 1, 1978 (1) qualified as a nonpreference immigrant under section 203(a)(8) of such Act (as in effect on June 1, 1978); (2) was determined to be exempt from the labor certification requirement of section 212(a)(14) of such Act because the alien had actually invested, before such date, capital in an enterprise in the United States of which the alien became a principal manager and which employed a person or persons (other than the spouse or children of the alien) who are citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence; and (3) applied for adjustment of status to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. § 2(c)(1) of the Virgin Islands Nonimmigrant Alien Adjustment Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-271, Sept. 30, 1982, 96 Stat. 1158) provides as follows: (c)(1) The numerical limitations described in sections 201(a) and 202 of the Act shall not apply to an alien's adjustment of status under this section. Such adjustment of status shall not result in any reduction in the number of aliens who may acquire the status of an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence under the Act. Subsection (e) of § 202 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-603, Nov. 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 3405) provides as follows: (e) No OFFSET IN NUMBER OR VISAS AVAILABLE.-When an alien is granted the status of having been lawfully admitted for permanent residence pursuant to this section, the Secretary of State shall not be required to reduce the number of immigrant visas authorized to be issued under the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Attorney General shall not be required to charge the alien any fee. Subsection (c) of 203 of that Act (100 Stat. 3405) provides as follows: (c) CLARIFICATION.-The numerical limitations of sections 201 and 202 of the Immigration and Nationality Act shall not apply to aliens provided lawful permanent resident status under section 249 of that Act. See also (1) §§ 210(c)(1) and 245A(d)(1) for waiver of numerical limitations of §§ 201 & 202 for aliens under those sections; (2) § 314 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, in Appendix II. A. 1., p. 266; (3) § 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1988, in Appendix II. C., p. 281; and (4) § 3 of the Immigration Amendments of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-658, Nov. 15, 1988, 102 Stat. 3908), in Appendix II. E., p. 288. 32 Provisos inserted by § 20 of Pub. L. 97-116 (95 Stat. 1621). to this section for such year, the Secretary of State shall reduce to such extent the annual numerical limitation in effect pursuant to this section for the following fiscal year. (b) The "immediate relatives" referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall mean the children, spouses, and parents of a citizen of the United States: Provided, That in the case of parents, such citizen must be at least twenty-one years of age. The immediate relatives specified in this subsection who are otherwise qualified for admission as immigrants shall be admitted as such, without regard to the numerical limitations in this Act. NUMERICAL LIMITATION TO ANY SINGLE FOREIGN STATE 31 SEC. 202. [8 U.S.C. 1152] (a) No person shall receive any preference or priority or be discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of his race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence, except as specifically provided in section 101(a)(27), section 201(b), and section 203: Provided, That the total number of immigrant visas made available to natives of any single foreign state under paragraphs (1) through (7) of section 203(a) shall not exceed 20,000 in any fiscal year: And provided further, 32 That to the extent that in a particular fiscal year the number of such natives who are issued immigrant visas or who may otherwise acquire the status of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence and who are subject to the numerical limitation of this section, together with the aliens from the same foreign state who adjust their status to aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence pursuant to subparagraph (H) of section 101(a)(27) or section 19 of the Immigration and Nationality Amendments Act of 1981, 31 exceed the numerical limitation in effect for such year pursuant to this section, the Secretary of State shall reduce to such extent the numerical limitation in effect for the natives of the same foreign state pursuant to this section for the following fiscal year. (b) Each independent country, self-governing dominion, mandated territory, and territory under the international trusteeship system of the United Nations, other than the United States and its outlying possessions, shall be treated as a separate foreign state for the purposes of the numerical limitation set forth in the proviso to subsection (a) of this section when approved by the Secretary of State. 33 All other inhabited lands shall be attributed to a foreign state specified by the Secretary of State. For the purposes of this Act the foreign state to which an immigrant is chargeable shall be determined by birth within such foreign state except that (1) an 33 § 714 of the International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1981 (Pub. L. 97113) provides as follows: IMMIGRANT VISAS FOR TAIWAN SEC. 714. The approval referred to in the first sentence of section 202(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act shall be considered to have been granted with respect to Taiwan (China). On Apr. 30, 1979, the Department of State made a final ruling whereby 22 CFR Part 42 was amended effective Apr. 23, 1979, to provide that aliens in Taiwan applying for immigrant visas shall be required to appear personally before a designated officer of the American Institute in Taiwan in connection with the execution of his immigrant visa application. This ruling, which was made pursuant to the authority contained in section 104 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, can be found at 44 F.R. 28659, May 16, 1979. alien child, when accompanied by or following to join his alien parent or parents, may be charged to the foreign state of either parent if such parent has received or would be qualified for an immigrant visa, if necessary to prevent the separation of the child from the parent or parents, and if immigration charged to the foreign state to which such parent has been or would be chargeable has not reached the numerical limitation set forth in the proviso to subsection (a) of this section for that fiscal year; (2) if an alien is chargeable to a different foreign state from that of his spouse, the foreign state to which such alien is chargeable may, if necessary to prevent the separation of husband and wife, be determined by the foreign state of the spouse he is accompanying or following to join, if such spouse has received or would be qualified for an immigrant visa and if immigration charged to the foreign state to which such spouse has been or would be chargeable has not reached the numerical limitation set forth in the proviso to subsection (a) of this section for that fiscal year; (3) an alien born in the United States shall be considered as having been born in the country of which he is a citizen or subject, or, if he is not a citizen or subject of any country, in the last foreign country in which he had his residence as determined by the consular officer; and (4) an alien born within any foreign state in which neither of his parents was born and in which neither of his parents had a residence at the time of such alien's birth may be charged to the foreign state of either parent. (c) Any immigrant born in a colony or other component or dependent area of a foreign state overseas from the foreign state, other than a special immigrant, as defined in section 101(a)(27), or an immediate relative of a United States citizen, as defined in section 201(b), shall be chargeable for the purpose of the limitation set forth in subsection (a), to the foreign state, and the number of immigrant visas available to each such colony or other component or dependent area shall not exceed 5,000 34 in any one fiscal year. (d) In the case of any change in the territorial limits of foreign states, the Secretary of State shall, upon recognition of such change, issue appropriate instructions to all diplomatic and consular offices. (e) Whenever the maximum number of visas have been made available under this section to natives of any single foreign state as defined in subsection (b) of this section or any dependent area as defined in subsection (c) of this section in any fiscal year, in the next following fiscal year a number of visas, not to exceed 20,000, in the case of a foreign state or 5,000 in the case of a dependent area, shall be made available and allocated as follows: (1) Visas shall first be made available, in a number not to exceed 20 per centum of the number specified in this subsection, to qualified immigrants who are the unmarried sons or daughters of citizens of the United States. (2) Visas shall next be made available, in a number not to exceed 26 per centum of the number specified in this subsection, plus any visas not required for the classes specified in 34 § 311(a) of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-603, Nov. 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 3434) increased the colonial quota from 600 to 5,000, effective with fiscal year 1988. paragraph (1), to qualified immigrants who are the spouses, unmarried sons, or unmarried daughters of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. (3) Visas shall next be made available, in a number not to exceed 10 per centum of the number specified in this subsection, to qualified immigrants who are members of the professions,35 or who because of their exceptional ability in the sciences or the arts will substantially benefit prospectively the national economy, cultural interests, or welfare of the United States, and whose services in the professions, sciences, or arts are sought by an employer in the United States. (4) Visas shall next be made available, in a number not to exceed 10 per centum of the number specified in this subsection, plus any visas not required for the classes specified in paragraphs (1) through (3), to qualified immigrants who are the married sons or the married daughters of citizens of the United States. (5) Visas shall next be made available, in a number not to exceed 24 per centum of the number specified in this subsection, plus any visas not required for the classes specified in paragraphs (1) through (4), to qualified immigrants who are the brothers or sisters of citizens of the United States, provided such citizens are at least twenty-one years of age. (6) 35 Visas shall next be made available, in a number not to exceed 10 per centum of the number specified in this subsection, to qualified immigrants capable of performing specified skilled or unskilled labor, not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which a shortage of employable and willing persons exists in the United States. (7) Visas so allocated but not required for the classes specified in paragraphs (1) through (6) shall be made available to other qualified immigrants strictly in the chronological order in which they qualify. ALLOCATION OF IMMIGRANT VISAS SEC. 203. [8 U.S.C. 1153] (a) Aliens who are subject to the numerical limitations specified in section 201(a) shall be allotted visas as follows: (1) Visas shall be first made available, in a number not to exceed 20 per centum of the number specified in section 201(a), to qualified immigrants who are the unmarried sons or daughters of citizens of the United States. (2) Visas shall next be made available, in a number not to exceed 26 per centum of the number specified in section 201(a), plus any visas not required for the classes specified in paragraph (1), to qualified immigrants who are the spouses, unmarried sons or un 35 Section 2(c) of the Health Professions Educational Assistance Act of 1976 (Pub. L. 94-484, Oct. 12, 1976, 90 Stat. 2243), provides as follows: (c) The Congress further finds and declares that there is no longer an insufficient number of physicians and surgeons in the United States such that there is no further need for affording preference to alien physicians and surgeons in admission to the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act. married daughters of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. (3) Visas shall next be made available, in a number not to exceed 10 per centum of the number specified in section 201(a), to qualified immigrants who are members of the professions, 35 or who because of their exceptional ability in the sciences or the arts will substantially benefit prospectively the national economy, cultural interests, or welfare of the United States, and whose services in the professions, sciences, or arts are sought by an employer in the United States. (4) Visas shall next be made available, in a number not to exceed 10 per centum of the number specified in section 201(a), plus any visas not required for the classes specified in paragraphs (1) through (3), to qualified immigrants who are the married sons or the married daughters of citizens of the United States. (5) Visas shall next be made available, in a number not to exceed 24 per centum of the number specified in section 201(a), plus any visas not required for the classes specified in paragraphs (1) through (4), to qualified immigrants who are the brothers or sisters of citizens of the United States, provided such citizens are at least twenty-one years of age. (6) Visas shall next be made available, in a number not to exceed 10 per centum of the number specified in section 201(a), to qualified immigrants who are capable of performing specified skilled or unskilled labor,35 not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which a shortage of employable and willing persons exists in the United States. (7) Visas authorized in any fiscal year, less those required for issuance to the classes specified in paragraphs (1) through (6), shall be made available to other qualified immigrants strictly in the chronological order in which they qualify. Waiting lists of applicants shall be maintained in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of State. No immigrant visa shall be issued to a nonpreference immigrant under this paragraph, or to an immigrant with a preference under paragraph (3) or (6) of this subsection, until the consular officer is in receipt of a determination made by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to the provisions of section 212(a)(14). No immigrant visa shall be issued under this paragraph to an adopted child or prospective adopted child of a United States citizen or lawfully resident alien unless (A) a valid home-study has been favorably recommended by an agency of the State of the child's proposed residence, or by an agency authorized by that State to conduct such a study, or, in the case of a child adopted abroad, by an appropriate public or private adoption agency which is licensed in the United States; and (B) the child has been irrevocably released for immigration and adoption: Provided, That no natural parent or prior adoptive parent of any such child shall thereafter, by virtue of such parentage, be accorded any right, privilege, or status under this Act. No immigrant visa shall otherwise be issued under this paragraph to an unmarried child under the age of sixteen except a child who is accompanying or following to join his natural parent. |