All those foreign religious workers who qualify should file for their "green card" by the end of August

Heavy applicant demand for numbers in the Employment Fourth, and Employment Fourth Certain Religious Worker, categories has resulted in their becoming “Unavailable” for September. This “Unavailable” status will take effect immediately for August because the annual limit for those categories has been reached. Therefore, no further requests for numbers in those categories can be processed during FY-2009.

The Employment Fourth preference can be expected to return to a “Current” status for October, the first month of the new fiscal year. The Employment Fourth Certain Religious Workers category is currently scheduled to expire on September 30, 2009, and future availability will depend on legislative action.