lottery

ludo lamy ludo.lamy@internetMCI.com
Tue, 04 Aug 1998 23:31:45 -0500


     The US Department of State is again having a lottery for permanent 
     residence visas to be distributed to qualified applicants. The 
     following information is quite comprehensive and may be useful if 
     you know someone interested in obtaining a "green card.
      This should answer all of your questions on 
     that subject.
     
     U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
     Office of the Spokesman 
     ___________________________________________________________ For 
     Immediate Release
     August 3, 1998 
     STATEMENT BY JAMES P. RUBIN, SPOKESMAN DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA 
     PROGRAM (DV-2000)
     
     Section 203(c) of the Immigration Act of 1990 makes available 
     55,000* permanent (immigrant) resident visas each year by random 
     selection through a diversity visa lottery (DV-2000). The DV-2000 
     registration mail-in period will be held from noon on Thursday, 
     October 1, 1998 through noon on Saturday, October 31, 1998. 
     
     How are the visas being apportioned? 
     The visas will be apportioned among six geographic regions. A 
     greater number of visas will go to those regions that have lower 
     immigration rates. There is a limit of 3,500 visas to natives of 
     any one foreign state. 
     Information about the visa allotments for each region is 
     unavailable at the present time. 
     
     Who is not eligible? 
     Persons born in "high admission" countries are, in most instances, 
     not eligible for the program. "High admission" countries are 
     defined as those from which the United States has received more 
     than 50,000 immigrants during the last five years in the immediate 
     relative, family and employment preference categories. Each year, 
     the Immigration and Naturalization Service adds the family and 
     employment immigrant admission figures for the previous five years, 
     to identify the countries which must be excluded from the annual 
     diversity lottery. Since there is a separate determination made 
     prior to each lottery entry period, the list of countries that do 
     not qualify is subject to change each year. 
     *The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NCARA) passed by 
     Congress in November 1997 stipulates that 5,000 of the 55,000 
     annually allocated diversity visas will be made available for use 
     under the NCARA program. 
     
     For 2000, "high admission" countries are: China (mainland and 
     Taiwan), India, the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Poland, 
     United Kingdom and dependent territories, Canada, Mexico, Haiti, 
     Jamaica, El Salvador, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. Persons 
     born in Hong Kong SAR and Northern Ireland are eligible to apply 
     for the DV-2000 lottery. 
     
     What are the requirements? 
     An entrant must be a native of a qualifying country. He or she must 
     also have either a high school education or its equivalent, or 
     within the past five years have two years of work experience in an 
     occupation that requires at least two years of training or 
     experience. 
     There is no initial application fee or special application form to 
     enter. The entry must be typed or clearly printed in the English 
     alphabet on a sheet of plain paper and must include the applicant's 
     full name; date and place of birth for both the applicant and for 
     the spouse or any minor children who might also wish to immigrate; 
     the applicant's mailing address and, if possible, a telephone 
     number; the applicant's native country if it differs from the 
     country of birth; a recent (preferably less than 6 months old) 
     photograph (1 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches) of the principal 
     applicant with the applicant's name printed across the back of the 
     photograph. (The photograph should be taped to the application with 
     clear tape, not attached by staples or paper clips which can jam 
     the mail processing equipment.) The applicant must also sign the 
     entry using his or her normal signature, regardless of whether the 
     entry is prepared and submitted by the applicant or someone else. 
     (Only the principal applicant, not the spouse and children, needs 
     to submit a signature and photograph.) This information must be 
     sent by regular mail or air mail to one of six postal addresses in 
     Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Applicants must use the correct postal 
     zip code designated for their native region (see addresses below). 
     Entries must be mailed in a standard letter or business-size 
     envelope with the applicant's native country, full name, and 
     complete mailing address typed or clearly printed in the English 
     alphabet in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope. Postcards 
     are not acceptable. 
     Only one entry for each applicant may be submitted during the 
     registration period. Entries sent by express or priority mail, fax, 
     hand, messenger, or any means requiring receipts or special 
     handling will not be processed. Duplicate or multiple entries will 
     disqualify individuals from registration for this program. Entries 
     received before or after the specified registration dates 
     regardless of when they are postmarked and entries sent to an 
     address other than one of those indicated below are void. All 
     qualified mail received during the registration period will be 
     individually numbered and entries will be selected at random by 
     computer regardless of time of receipt during the mail-in period. 
     Where should entries be sent? 
     The mailing address for all entries is the same, except for the Zip 
     Code. That address is: 
     DV-2000 Program
     National Visa Center
     Portsmouth, N.H. Zip Code (see below) U.S.A.
     The Zip Codes are as follows: Asia: 00210; South America/Central 
     America/Caribbean: 00211; Europe: 00212; Africa: 00213; Oceania: 
     00214; and North America: 00215. 
     
     Why are you holding the registration for the DV lottery in October? 
     The National Visa Center typically receives between 6 to 7 million 
     qualified entries during the registration mail-in period. The 
     massive amount of entries creates an enormous amount of work in 
     processing and selecting successful registrants. Holding the 
     registration period in the fall ensures successful registrants are 
     notified in a timely manner. This gives both them and our Embassies 
     and Consulates overseas a full fiscal year in which to process the 
     necessary immigrant visas. 
     
     Is it necessary to use an outside attorney or consultant? 
     The decision to hire an attorney or consultant is entirely up to 
     the applicant. Procedures for entering the Diversity Lottery can be 
     completed without assistance following simple instructions. 
     However, if applicants prefer to use outside assistance, that is 
     their choice. There are many legitimate attorneys and immigration 
     consultants assisting applicants for reasonable fees, or in some 
     cases for free. Unfortunately, there are other persons who are 
     charging exorbitant rates and making unrealistic claims. The 
     selection of winners is made at random and no outside service can 
     improve an applicant's chances of being chosen or guarantee an 
     entry will win. Any service that claims it can improve an 
     applicant's odds would be promising something it cannot deliver. 
     Persons who think they have been cheated by a U.S. company or 
     consultant in connection with the Diversity Visa Lottery may wish 
     to contact their local consumer affairs office or the National 
     Fraud Information Center at 1-800-876-7060 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 
     p.m. (Eastern Time), Monday through Friday or (202) 835-0159; 
     Internet address: http://www/fraud.org. (These numbers are only to 
     report fraud and not to obtain information about application 
     procedures for the DV lottery.) The U.S. Department of State has no 
     authority to investigate complaints against businesses. 
     
     How will winners be notified? 
     Only successful registrants will be notified by mail at the address 
     listed on their entry. The notifications will be sent to the 
     winners between April and July 1999, along with instructions on how 
     to apply for an immigrant visa, including a requirement for a 
     special DV $75 case-processing fee payable at the time of interview 
     by only those individuals whose applications are selected and 
     processed for DV-2000 visas. Applicants must meet all eligibility 
     requirements under U.S. law to be issued a visa. 
     Being selected as a winner in the DV Lottery does not automatically 
     guarantee being issued a visa because the number of applicants 
     selected is greater than the number of immigrant visas available. 
     Those selected will therefore need to act on their immigrant visa 
     applications quickly. Once the total 50,000 visas have been issued, 
     the DV Program for fiscal year 2000 will end. In any event, all 
     DV-2000 visas must, by law, be issued by September 30, 2000. 
     
     Where can one receive instructions to enter the lottery? Interested 
     persons may call 202/331-7199, which describes various means to 
     access further details on entering the DV-2000 program. Information 
     is available 24 hours a day in the U.S. by calling the Department 
     of State's Visa Lottery Information Center at 1-900-884-8840 at a 
     flat rate of $5.10 per call. Callers will first hear some basic 
     information about the lottery and then will be requested to provide 
     their name and address so that printed instructions can be mailed 
     to them. Applicants overseas may also contact the nearest U.S. 
     embassy or consulate for instructions on the DV lottery. DV 
     information is also available on the internet and via the Consular 
     Affairs autofax number. The CA webpage address is 
     http://travel.state.gov. The autofax number is (202)647-3000. 
     
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