Say there are 2000 quotas available in a given month for a given catagory, having a visa number available to you means you are ONE of the lucky 2000 who made the cut. But how soon you will be processed depends on when you filed, so then you are assigned a specific number in chronological order.
In some cases, I suppose you can say that the having a quota is the same as having that specific number available to you. But consider what will happen if after the first 1000 cases were processed, they suddently realized that the 2000 quotas were too optimistic? now they have to cut off at 1500. You still have your A#, but now you have to wait for the next round of visa quota to become available.
In some cases, I suppose you can say that the having a quota is the same as having that specific number available to you. But consider what will happen if after the first 1000 cases were processed, they suddently realized that the 2000 quotas were too optimistic? now they have to cut off at 1500. You still have your A#, but now you have to wait for the next round of visa quota to become available.