CUT-OFF DATES FOR DECEMBER 2007 The following information is provided by the Visa Office regarding the cut-off dates for the month of December 2007.

FAMILY PREFERENCES F1-Family first preference: Unmarried sons and daughters over the age of 21 years of U.S. Citizens.
The cut-off date has moved forward by one (1) month for most of the countries to January 8, 2002 and for India by five (5) weeks to January 8, 2002.
F2A - Family second preference: Spouses and minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents. The cut-off date has moved forward by one (1) month for most countries including India to January 15, 2003.
F2B- Family second preference: Unmarried sons and daughters over 21 of permanent residents. The cut-off date has moved forward by one (1) month for most of the countries including India to October 15, 1998.
F3-Family third preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens and their spouses and children.
The cut-off date has moved forward by five (5) weeks for most of the countries including India to April 8, 2000.
F4-Family fourth preference: Brothers and sisters of U.S. Citizens. The cut-off date has moved forward by one (1) month for most of the countries to June 22, 1997, and for India it has moved forward by seven (7) weeks to August 15, 1996.
EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCES EB1 - Priority Workers: The cut-off date for this category for all countries including India is CURRENT.
EB2 - Advanced Degree holders: The cut-off date for this category for most countries is CURRENT and for India has retrogressed by two (2) years three (3) months to January 1, 2002.
EB3 - Professional & Skilled Workers: The cut-off date for this category for most countries has moved forward by one (1) month to September 1, 2002, and for India it has move forward by one (1) week to May 1, 2001.
EB3 - Other Workers: The cut-off date for this category for all countries including India has not moved at all and remain October 1, 2001.
EB4 (Certain Special Immigrants including Religious Workers) & EB5 (Investment Visas) categories for all countries including India is CURRENT.
IMMIGRANT VISA AVAILABILITY DURING THE COMING MONTHS The following projections are based on the demand patterns which are currently being experienced.
Fluctuations in demand could alter such projections at any time. Therefore, they should only be used as a guideline of what might occur. Under no circumstances should they be used as a basis for making any formal plans prior to the announcement of the monthly cut-off dates.
Family Preferences - Worldwide: Movement consistent with that of recent months can be expected for the foreseeable future.
Employment Preferences - Worldwide and Philippines: First: Will remain "Current" Second: Will remain "Current" Third: Slow forward movement should be possible while demand patterns are established.
Third "Other Workers" (All Countries): Little if any forward movement is expected at this time. Should the current demand pattern continue, it may be necessary to retrogress the cut-off date at some point later in the fiscal year.
CHINA-mainland born and INDIA: Employment Preferences: First: Continued heavy demand may require the establishment of a cut-off date at some point during the fiscal year.
Second: Demand during October and the first week of November has already used over 38 percent of the annual limit. It is hoped that the December retrogressions will return monthly number use within the target range. If not, further retrogressions cannot be ruled out.
Michael Phulwani is a prominent attorney admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey and India. He practices immi- gration and nationality law and visa matters in the USA and abroad. He is a frequent lecturer on immigration law and co-hosts several TV and radio programs on immigration and legislation and answer questions from our readers. All questions should be forwarded to Michael Phulwani, 74-09 37th Avenue, Suite 315, Jackson Heights, NY 11372 Courtesy of Paula N. Singer, Esq. This is the concluding part of the two-part article discussing the ten common tax returns errors made by Foreign Nationals. 3. Failing to include all income in the return - Foreign nationals who are resident aliens are subject to U.S. income tax on worldwide income in the same manner as U.S. citizens. Foreign nationals who elect to file as a resident with a U.S. citizen or resident spouse must include their worldwide income in their U.S. return. 4. Claiming incorrect personal exemptions - In order for a dependent to be claimed for a personal exemp- tion, the dependent must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien unless an exception applies. There are exceptions for dependents who are U.S. nationals or residents of Canada or Mexico. Nonresident business apprentices and students from India can claim a dependent exemption for their spouse. 5. Incorrectly claiming a tax treaty benefit - The U.S. has income tax treaties with over 60 countries. Many foreign nationals, particularly foreign students and scholars, may be eligible for treaty exemptions from tax. Eligibility for treaty benefits is based on tax resi- dency (not citizenship) in the treaty country as described by the treaty article under which a benefit is claimed. Treaty benefits for income such as dividends, interest, rents, and royalties require the taxpayer to be a resident of the treaty country and not a resident of the United States when the income is paid. 6. Claiming improper temporarily-away-from-home expense deductions - Taxpayers who have been provid- ing services and are temporarily away from their tax home may claim deductions for their travel, meals, and lodging. (Expenses related to their family mem- bers are generally not deductible.) To be temporarily away, taxpayers must be at their temporary work loca- tion for a period anticipated to be a year or less. Their tax home is their principal place of business. A short absence of a few months between visits is not sufficient to restart the clock for purposes of these deductions. If travel, food, and lodging have been paid or reimbursed by their employer, deductions may only be claimed if the amounts are included in their Form W-2 gross income. 7. Excluding certain taxable capital gains on stock sales on Form 1040NR - Capital gains on property other than real estate are fixed or determinable annual or periodic income subject to 30-percent tax on the net gain (reportable on page 4 of Form 1040NR) unless an exception applies. Nonresident aliens can exclude their capital gains on property, such as stock, if: § The capital gain is foreign-sourced; or § The capital gain is U.S.-sourced but the recipient is in the U.S. for less than 183 days in the tax year. Capital gains are U.S.-sourced income if the recipient has a tax home in the United States. Generally, if a tax- payer is here for a period anticipated to be longer than one year, the United States is considered to be his or her tax home. Many of these taxpayers have U.S.- sourced gains subject to 30-percent tax that are never reported on their U.S. tax returns because of misun- derstandings about these rules. 8. Failing to file disclosure forms - Foreign nationals becoming resident aliens who maintain income-pro- ducing assets overseas, who transfer assets to foreign entities, who are grantors or recipients of income from foreign trusts, or who are recipients of certain gifts or bequests from abroad, may be required to submit dis- closure forms. 9. Failing to file a federal tax return - Foreign nation- als fail to file U.S. tax returns for a variety of reasons. Nonresident aliens who fail to timely file their nonres- ident tax return can lose deductions and credits to which they would otherwise be entitled if they fail to correct the lapse in filing voluntarily before being con- tacted by the IRS. 10. Failing to file a state income tax return - Foreign nationals who prepare their own tax returns frequent- ly fail to submit a required state income tax return. In fact, a number of Internet sites and special tax prepa- ration software packages that prepare nonresident returns do not prepare state income tax returns. Whether foreign nationals have a state income tax fil- ing obligation depends upon whether they are resident in (under the state's rules) or earn income from certain sources in a state that imposes income taxes on indi- viduals, and whether their income meets the filing threshold. CUT-OFF DATES FOR DECEMBER 2007 The following information is provided by the Visa Office regarding the cut-off dates for the month of December 2007. FAMILY PREFERENCES F1-Family first preference: Unmarried sons and daughters over the age of 21 years of U.S. Citizens. The cut-off date has moved forward by one (1) month for most of the countries to January 8, 2002 and for India by five (5) weeks to January 8, 2002. F2A - Family second preference: Spouses and minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters of perma- nent residents. The cut-off date has moved forward by one (1) month for most countries including India to January 15, 2003. F2B- Family second preference: Unmarried sons and daughters over 21 of permanent residents. The cut-off date has moved forward by one (1) month for most of the countries including India to October 15, 1998. F3-Family third preference: Married sons and daugh- ters of U.S. Citizens and their spouses and children. The cut-off date has moved forward by five (5) weeks for most of the countries including India to April 8, 2000. F4-Family fourth preference: Brothers and sisters of U.S. Citizens. The cut-off date has moved forward by one (1) month for most of the countries to June 22, 1997, and for India it has moved forward by seven (7) weeks to August 15, 1996. EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCES EB1 - Priority Workers: The cut-off date for this cate- gory for all countries including India is CURRENT. EB2 - Advanced Degree holders: The cut-off date for this category for most countries is CURRENT and for India has retrogressed by two (2) years three (3) months to January 1, 2002. EB3 - Professional & Skilled Workers: The cut-off date for this category for most countries has moved forward by one (1) month to September 1, 2002, and for India it has move forward by one (1) week to May 1, 2001. EB3 - Other Workers: The cut-off date for this cate- gory for all countries including India has not moved at all and remain October 1, 2001. EB4 (Certain Special Immigrants including Religious Workers) & EB5 (Investment Visas) categories for all countries including India is CURRENT. IMMIGRANT VISA AVAILABILITY DURING THE COMING MONTHS The following projections are based on the demand patterns which are currently being experienced. Fluctuations in demand could alter such projections at any time. Therefore, they should only be used as a guideline of what might occur. Under no circum- stances should they be used as a basis for making any formal plans prior to the announcement of the month- ly cut-off dates. Family Preferences - Worldwide: Movement consis- tent with that of recent months can be expected for the foreseeable future. Employment Preferences - Worldwide and Philippines: First: Will remain "Current" Second: Will remain "Current" Third: Slow forward movement should be possible while demand patterns are established. Third "Other Workers" (All Countries): Little if any forward movement is expected at this time. Should the current demand pattern continue, it may be neces- sary to retrogress the cut-off date at some point later in the fiscal year. CHINA-mainland born and INDIA: Employment Preferences: First: Continued heavy demand may require the establishment of a cut-off date at some point during the fiscal year. Second: Demand during October and the first week of November has already used over 38 percent of the annual limit. It is hoped that the December retrogres- sions will return monthly number use within the tar- get range. If not, further retrogressions cannot be ruled out.

Michael Phulwani is a prominent attorney admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey and India. He practices immigration and nationality law and visa matters in the USA and abroad. He is a frequent lecturer on immigration law and co-hosts several TV and radio programs on immigration and legislation and answer questions from our readers. All questions should be forwarded to Michael Phulwani, 74-09 37th Avenue, Suite 315, Jackson Heights, NY 11372 Courtesy of Paula N. Singer, Esq.
Published in News India-Times 11/23/2007