Most of the Family categories moved only one to five weeks forward, or in the case of the 2A preference category (spouses and minor, unmarried children of permanent residents) did not move at all. One exception was the Mexican 1st preference category (unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) which moved two months forward.

The Worldwide Employment categories remained "current" (no backlogs) except for the unskilled category which advanced two months to February 1, 1990. The India 2nd preference category advanced over three months while the India 3rd preference category moved forward two months. The most significant movement occurred in the Philippine 3rd preference category which moved from a ten month backlog to current.

For an explanation of what the categories, dates and symbols listed below mean, see

The lists containing the waiting times of each center have been updated to include each state served by the center and any foreign offices within each center's jurisdiction.

The service centers issue lists of their processing times for various types of applications. Our web page contains the latest list issued by each service center.

Warning: Processing times may appear faster on the official lists than they are in reality.

To see how fast (or slow) your service center is processing a particular type of petition or application, see

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) subcontracts the processing of these "labor certificatons" to the individuals state labor departments which are known as State Employment Service Agencies (SESAs). Once the SESA guides you through the recruitment process (sometimes kicking and screaming!), the Regional DOL Office either approves your application or sends you a Notice of Findings (NOF). A NOF means "Danger Ahead: Exercise Extreme Caution!"

Employers of temporary professional (H-1B) employees must obtain a Labor Condition Application (LCA) from DOL prior to submitting an H-1B petition to INS.

Each SESA and Regional DOL Offices process labor certifications and LCAs at varying speeds.

To survey the latest processing times for each office, see

Not speaking a word of English, David, a name that his father selected for him from the Bible, enrolled in school in a poor neighborhood in Los Angeles. David remembers being taunted by his classmates for being so "dumb".

Nevertheless, David quickly mastered English and excelled in school. He attended Cal Tech, MIT and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ho has been named Man of the Year by Time Magazine. Do you know why?

Answer contained in Topic #10

To read a copy of the HUD memorandum, see

Dr. Feoktistov requested that I attempt to provide generalized answers to IMGs who require immigration assistance. To date, Dr. Feoktistov and I have fielded over 20 questions about J waivers.

If you are an IMG with a question relating to a J waiver feel free to go to

I was fortunate enough to be chosen to deliver the keynote speech ("America Stands Unique in the World") before the convention which was held at the lovely Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

My thesis is that immigrants to the U.S. have often faced a hostile reception, but that immigration is what makes America unique in the world, and that much of the greatness of our country can be attributed to our immigrant tradition.

Finally, I conclude by stating various reasons why I believe that the present backlash against immigrants may have crested, and could abate in the near future.

Whether or not you agree with me, please read the text of my speech at

The question that we were asked was how the various government agencies dealing with immigrants could accomplish their mission more efficiently.

My response was that if private attorneys could, on fairly meager budgets, design web pages to bring so much information on immigration laws and procedures to the public, why were some of the government agencies lagging behind.

Although my suggestion did not elicit much response, I now understand why. Even as I spoke, INS was in the process of dramatically upgrading their web site. See

Dr. Ho is using powerful drugs called protease inhibitors in combination with other drugs (an "antiviral cocktail") to treat patients who recently contracted HIV. (Worldwide, an estimated 30 million persons, over 70% of them heterosexual, have been infected with HIV.) Dr. Ho's results have been so successful that the HIV level in his patients' blood has become undetectable and may be eliminated entirely from their bodies. Fifteen years after the epidemic started, Dr. Ho and others like him are finally able to give hope to HIV-infected patients.

Although he is an immigrant, Dr. Ho freely admits that these days "I wouldn't have the vocabulary to give a scientific talk in Chinese". He is a strong believer in the drive to succeed among immigrants: "People get to this new world, and they want to carve out their place in it. The result is dedication and a higher level of work ethic."

To read about the accomplishments of Dr. Ho and other AIDS researchers, many of whom are immigrants, see