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It’s the beginning of the month, time for the latest update from the U.S. State Department’s Visa Bulletin. The bulletin lists the categories of hopeful immigrants whose turn has come to enter the United States legally with an immigrant visa. But for many, the good news – provided the posted dates don’t change, which can happen – comes after an excruciatingly long wait.

As it has been lately, the people waiting in line the longest are hopeful immigrants from the Philippines who are being sponsored by their siblings. The ones whose priority dates are on the bulletin this month filed petitions back in May of 1988.

Immigrants from Mexico who have been waiting are slightly ahead, but not by much. Here are the top four categories of immigrants who have waited longest as their number for a visa comes up:

1) Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens from the Philippines, a wait of more than 23 years (petitions filed May 15, 1988).

2) Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens from the Philippines, a wait of more than 19 years (petitions filed April 1, 1992)

3) Unmarried adult (21 and over) sons and daughters of U.S. legal permanent residents from Mexico, a wait of close to 19 years (petitions filed October 1, 1992)

4) Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens from Mexico, a wait of close to 19 years (petitions filed November 15, 1992)

How it works: Immigrant visas technically become available each month to those whose priority dates, i.e. the dates on which their petitions were filed, are listed in the visa bulletin. Being on the monthly priority date list is great news for those waiting. But the dates are subject to change and often do, meaning that some who thought they were done waiting must continue standing in line.

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Who has had to wait the longest to come legally to the U.S. as an immigrant this month? As it’s been in recent months, it’s hopeful immigrants from the Philippines, people being sponsored by their siblings who filed their paperwork back in 1988.

The line for immigrants from Mexico and the Philippines who are being sponsored by U.S. citizen and legal resident relatives moves at a glacial pace, and little has changed since last month. According to this month’s Visa Bulletin from the U.S. State Department, here are the top four categories of immigrants who have waited longest as their number for a visa comes up:

1) Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens from the Philippines, a wait of more than 23 years (petitions filed May 15, 1988).

2) Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens from the Philippines, a wait of more than 19 years (petitions filed March 22, 1992)

3) Unmarried adult (21 and over) sons and daughters of U.S. legal permanent residents from Mexico, a wait of close to 19 years (petitions filed September 22, 1992)

4) Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens from Mexico, a wait of close to 19 years (petitions filed November 15, 1992)

Each month, immigrant visas technically become available to those whose priority dates, i.e. the dates on which their petitions were filed, are listed in the visa bulletin. Being on the monthly priority date list is great news for those waiting, but the dates are subject to change and often do. This means that some who thought their long wait was over will have to wait longer.

Every nation is allotted the same percentage from a pool of family and employer-based visas available each year, regardless of the demand from any individual nation. For those waiting in Mexico, the Philippines, China and India, countries represented by large immigrant populations here, there is an especially high demand for family reunification, hence the long waits.

It’s not unusual for hopeful immigrants abroad being sponsored by relatives in the United States to spend years waiting in line, sometimes 20 years or more. Immigrants defined as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, such as spouses, parents, and children under 21, are exempt from the limits (although U.S.-born children of immigrants must be 21 in order to sponsor their parents, and penalties apply if the parents entered illegally).

But other relatives must wait until their priority date comes up. The entire Visa Bulletin for July 2011 can be viewed here.

It’s January, which means it’s time for our monthly feature on the longest waits for green cards. Last month, the people who became eligible for immigrant visas after waiting the longest had endured a wait of 23 years, having filed their petitions in early 1988.

This month it’s no different, according to the U.S. State Department’s Visa Bulletin. Some of the hopeful immigrants whose number is up to receive a green card this month have been waiting in line since January 1988. That was before the launch of the World Wide Web, when acid-washed jeans were considered fashionable, and before most people had ever heard of grunge rock.

Immigrant visas have technically become available for those whose priority dates, i.e. the dates on which petitions were filed, are listed in the bulletin. This month, the longest waits have been endured by:

1) Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens from the Philippines, a wait of 23 years (petitions filed January 1, 1988).

2) Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens from the Philippines, a wait of more than 19 years (petitions filed October 22, 1991)

3) Unmarried adult (21 and over) sons and daughters of U.S. legal permanent residents from Mexico, a wait of more than 18 years (petitions filed June 22, 1992)

4) Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens from Mexico, a wait of more than 18 years (petitions filed October 22, 1992)

Being on the monthly priority date list for a green card is good news for those waiting, though the dates are subject to change and often do, meaning that some who thought their wait was over must wait longer.

It’s not unusual to see waits of close to 20 years or more endured by family members abroad being sponsored by relatives in the United States. Those in some countries, especially Mexico and the Philippines, have far longer waits than others.

Here’s why: Every nation is allotted the same percentage from a pool of family and employer-based visas available each year, regardless of the demand from any individual nation. For those waiting in countries represented by large immigrant populations here, making for a high demand for family reunification, the wait to enter the country legally can take a surprisingly long time.

Immigrants defined as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, i.e. spouses, parents, and children under 21, are exempt from the limits. But others, such as the adult children or siblings of U.S. citizens or legal residents, must wait in line until their priority date comes up.

The entire Visa Bulletin for January 2011 can be viewed here.