[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 249 (Thursday, December 29, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-32029]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 29, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1657-94]
RIN 1115-AD69

 

Diversity Immigrant Limits for Fiscal Year 1995

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice describes the procedures used to set the annual 
regional limits under the Diversity Immigrant Program. These procedures 
carry out the statutory authority of the Attorney General to determine 
the allocation to up to 55,000 diversity immigrant visas each fiscal 
year beginning in fiscal year 1995. This notice also describes the 
formula used to reach the allocation of diversity immigrant visas for 
Fiscal Year 1995, under the administration of the Department of State.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 29, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written comments, in triplicate, to the Policy 
Directives and Instructions Branch, Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, 425 I Street, NW., Room 5307, Washington, DC 20536, Attn: 
Public Comment Clerk. To ensure proper handling please reference to INS 
No. 1657-94 on your correspondence.
    Comments are available for public inspection at this address by 
calling (202) 514-3048 to arrange for an appointment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael D. Hoefer, Chief, Demographic 
Statistics Branch, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Washington, 
DC 20536, ATTN: Tariff Building--Room 268, Telephone (202) 376-3066.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 203(c)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 
which was created by Sec. 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT), 
established the Diversity Immigrant Program beginning in fiscal year 
1995. Up to 55,000 visas will be issued annually to natives of foreign 
states from which immigration was lower than 5,000 over the preceding 5 
years. The INA authorizes the Attorney General to allocate these visas 
among six geographic regions, each with its own limit on visa issuance. 
The formulas to calculate the limits are specified in Sec. 203(c)(1) 
immigrant admissions during the most recent 5-year period, and (2) 
world population estimates.

Immigrant Admission Data

    Section 203(c)(1)(A) of the INA defines the immigrants admitted 
during the most recent 5-year period that are used to determine the 
regional limits. Included are immigrants admitted under family-
sponsored preferences, employment-based preferences, and as immediate 
relatives of U.S. citizens.
    Family-sponsored preference immigrants include (1) unmarried sons 
and unmarried daughters of U.S. citizens (Sec. 203(c)(1) of the INA), 
(2) spouses and unmarried sons and unmarried daughters of legal 
permanent residents (Sec. 203(a)(2)); (3) married sons and married 
daughters of U.S. citizens (Sec. 203(a)(3)); and (4) brothers and 
sisters of U.S. citizens (Sec. 203(a)(4)).
    Employment-based preference immigrants include (1) priority workers 
(Sec. 203(b)(1) of the INA); (2) aliens who are members of the 
professional holding advanced degrees or aliens of exceptional ability 
(Sec. 203(b)(2)); (3) skilled workers, professionals, and other workers 
(Sec. 203(b)(3)); (4) certain special immigrants (Sec. 203(b)(4)); and 
(5) aliens allotted visas for employment creation (Sec. 203(b)(5)). For 
immigrant admission data prior to fiscal year 1992, employment-based 
preference immigrants include (1) members of the professions or of 
exceptional ability (Sec. 203(a)(3) of the INA before revisions by 
Secs. 111, 121(a), 131, & 162(a) of IMMACT), and (2) skilled and 
unskilled immigrants (Sec. 203(a)(6) of the INA before revisions by 
Secs. 111, 121(a), 131, & 162(a) of IMMACT).
    Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens include (1) children, spouses, 
and parents of U.S. citizens (including fiances and fiancees of U.S. 
citizens and their children, and widows of U.S. citizens); (2) aliens 
admitted under Sec. 211(a) of the INA on the basis of a prior issuance 
of a visa to their accompanying parent who is such an immediate 
relative; and (3) aliens born to an alien lawfully admitted for 
permanent residence during a temporary visit abroad. Section 201(b)(2) 
of the INA.
    The 1995 calculations are based on the most recent available 
official records of immigration collected by the U.S. Immigration and 
Naturalization Service for the period including fiscal years 1988-92.

Population Estimates

    The allocation of the visas to the six geographic regions is based 
on each region's population. The INS will obtain population estimates 
from the Center for International Research, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 
as reported in their International Data Base. The Center for 
International Research is the only U.S. Government source of world 
population estimates. Although the Center's population estimates are 
compiled in mid-year, they represent the best available statistics. For 
the fiscal year 1995 calculations, mid-year 1992 population estimates 
were used.

Geographic Regions

    The six geographic regions subject to limitation are defined in 
Section 203(c)(1)(F) of the INA as: (1) Africa, (2) Asia, (3) Europe, 
(4) North America (other than Mexico), (5) Oceania, and (6) South 
America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. The countries will 
be assigned to a region each year as determined by the Office of the 
Geographer, U.S. Department of State. The Office of the Geographer has 
assigned the countries in each of the six regions for 1995 as follows:

(1) AFRICA

Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia, The
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zaire
Zambia
Zimbabwe

(2) ASIA

Afghanistan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Burma
Cambodia
China (mainland-born)
China (Taiwan-born) (a ``state'' within the meaning of the Act)
Hong Kong (a ``state'' within the meaning of the Act)
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kuwait
Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Syria
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Vietnam
Yemen

EUROPE

Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macadonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro (a ``state'' for purposes of the Act)
Netherlands
Northern Ireland (a ``state'' within the meaning of the Act)
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Serbia (a ``state'' for purposes of the Act)
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Uzbekistan
Vatican City (an independent city under the jurisdiction of the Holy 
See)

(4) NORTH AMERICA (other than Mexico)

Bahamas, The
Canada

(5) OCEANIA

Australia
Fiji
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia, Federated States of
Nauru
New Zealand
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Western Samoa

(6) SOUTH AMERICA, MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN

Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay
Venezuela

1995 Regional Limits

    Natives of high-admission countries, for which immigration was 
greater than 50,000 during the most recent five-fiscal-year period, are 
not eligible to participate in the Diversity Immigrant program. Based 
on immigrant admission data for fiscal years 1988-92, natives of the 
following foreign states are high-admission states in fiscal year 1995: 
Canada, China (mainland-born), China (Taiwan-born), the Dominican 
Republic, El Salvador, India, Jamaica, Korea (South), Mexico, the 
Philippines, the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland), and 
Vietnam. Natives in all other countries are from low-admission states 
and are allowed to participate in the 1995 Diversity Immigrant Program. 
The maximum number of visas issued to natives of a single independent 
country shall not exceed 7 percent of the total of 55,000, or 3,850. 
Section 203(c)(1)(E)(v) of the INA.
    Diversity visa allocations are determined by using one of two 
formulas, one to be used to calculate allocation for states located in 
``high-admission'' regions, the other to be used to calculate 
allocations for states located in ``low-admission'' regions. Regions 
with more than \1/6\ of the total number of immigrants admitted during 
the most recent five-fiscal-year period are defined as ``high-
admission'' regions. Section 203(c)(1)(B)(i)(I) of the INA. Regions 
with \1/6\ or less of the total number are defined as ``low-admission'' 
regions. Section 203(c)(1)(B)(i)(II). High-admission regions for fiscal 
year 1995 are Asia (Region 2), and South America, Mexico, Central 
America, and the Caribbean (Region 6). Low-admission regions for fiscal 
year 1995 are Africa (Region 1), Europe (Region 3), North America 
(other than Mexico) (Region 4), and Oceania (Region 5.
    Sections 203(c)(1) (C), (D) and (E) describe the formulas to be 
used to distribute the 55,000 Diversity Immigrant visas. Both formulas 
exclude the population totals from the high-admission states. The 
formulas are as follows:

Low-Admission Regions

TN29DE94.006

High-Admission Regions

TN29DE94.007

Where:

LAi=Limit for Low-Admission Region i
HAi=Limit for High-Admission Region i
PLAi=Population for Low-Admission Region i
PHAi=Population for High-Admission Region i
IHA=Proportion of the preference immigrants that were charged to high-
Admission Regions (including immigrant admission totals from High-
admission states)=.829 in 1995

    The limits on visa issuance by region for fiscal year 1995 using 
the procedures described in this notice are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Visa  
                            Region                               limit  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Africa.......................................................     20,200
Asia.........................................................      6,837
Europe.......................................................     24,549
N. America (other than Mexico)...............................          8
Oceania......................................................        817
South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean....      2,589
    Total....................................................     55,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As specified earlier, high-admission countries are not allowed to 
participate in 1995: Canada, China (mainland-born), China (Taiwan-
born), the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India, Jamaica, Korea 
(South), Mexico, the Philippines, the United Kingdom (excluding 
Northern Ireland), and Vietnam.
    The regional limits and countries whose citizens are excluded from 
the Diversity Immigrant program will be calculated each year based on 
new immigration records and population estimates.

    Dated: December 22, 1994.
Doris Meissner,
Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
[FR Doc. 94-32029 Filed 12-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-10-M