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The following
provides directions regarding Diversity Lottery 2001.
Department of State Instructions for DV-2003
“Posted on AILA InfoNet,
Doc. No. 01080231 (August 30, 2001 ).”
PRESS STATEMENT
Richard Boucher, Spokesman
Washington, DC
August 1, 2001
Diversity Immigrant Visa Program
(DV-2003)
The mail-in period for the next Diversity
Visa lottery (DV-2003) will be held between noon on October
1, 2001 and noon on October 31, 2001. Those who choose to
enter the DV-2003 lottery should obtain a copy of the instructions
in the "Visa Bulletin," which may be found at the Bureau of
Consular Affairs web site:
http://travel.state.gov
Section 203(c) of the Immigration Act
of 1990 makes available up to 55,000 (1) permanent resident
immigrant visas each year by random selection through a Diversity
Visa lottery (DV-2003). The visas are distributed among six
geographic regions with a greater number of visas going to
regions with lower rates of immigration, and no visas going
to citizens of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants
to the U.S. in the past five years. Within each region, no
one country may receive more than 7% of the available Diversity
Visas in any one year.
There is no specific format for the entry, but it is important
to provide all the information requested. Entries for the
DV-2003 Diversity Visa Lottery must be received at one of
the Kentucky Consular Center mailing addresses during the
mail-in period. Entries sent to the wrong address or received
before or after this period will be disqualified regardless
of when they are postmarked. Please note several important
changes in requirements and eligibility described below.
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 and no visas may
be issued to countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants
to the United States during the previous five years. No one
country (2) can receive more than seven percent of the available
diversity visas in any one year.
Information about visa allotments for each region is determined
by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) each year
according to a formula specified in Section 203(c) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act.
The six geographic regions are:
AFRICA: All countries on the continent
of Africa and adjacent islands are eligible.
ASIA: All countries are eligible except China (mainland
born), India, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, and Vietnam.
Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.
EUROPE: All countries are eligible except Great Britain
(United Kingdom) and its dependent territories. (Northern
Ireland is eligible.)
NORTH AMERICA: The Bahamas is the only eligible country
in the region this year. (Canada is not eligible for the DV
lottery.)
OCEANIA: All countries in the region are eligible,
including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the
countries and islands in the South Pacific.
SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN:
All countries in the region are eligible except Colombia,
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico.
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 INS adds the family
and employment immigrant admission figures for the previous
five years, to identify the countries that 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.
For DV-2003, the "high admission" countries are: Canada, China
(mainland born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines,
South Korea, the United Kingdom and dependent territories,
and Vietnam. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Taiwan,
and Northern Ireland are eligible to apply for the DV-2003
lottery.
HAVE THE REQUIREMENTS CHANGED SINCE
LAST YEAR’S REGISTRATION?
The address for submitting DV applications
has changed. Applicants must mail their entries to one of
the six Kentucky Consular Center regional addresses listed
below. The entry must be submitted by regular or airmail to
the address matching the region of the applicant’s country
of nativity. Entries sent by express or priority mail, second
day airmail, fax, hand, messenger, or any means requiring
special handling will be disqualified.
Entries mailed to any address other than the Kentucky Consular
Center addresses shown below will be disqualified.
Africa:
Asia:
DV-2003 Program
Kentucky Consular Center
1001 Visa Crest
Migrate, KY 41901-1000, U.S.A.
DV-2003 Program
Kentucky Consular Center
2002 Visa Crest
Migrate, KY 41902-2000, U.S.A.
Europe:
South America/Central America/Caribbean:
DV-2003 Program
Kentucky Consular Center
3003 Visa Crest
Migrate, KY 41903-3000, U.S.A.
DV-2003 Program
Kentucky Consular Center
4004 Visa Crest
Migrate, KY 41904-4000, U.S.A.
Oceania:
North America:
DV-2003 Program
Kentucky Consular Center
5005 Visa Crest
Migrate, KY 41905-5000, U.S.A.
DV-2003 Program
Kentucky Consular Center
6006 Visa Crest
Migrate, KY 41906-6000, U.S.A.
The eligibility of the applicant and the
information required on the entry and on the envelope in which
it is sent is specified in detail in the Visa Bulletin. Each
entry must be personally signed by the applicant. Please note
that photographs of the applicant and all his/her dependents
are now required, and the photos must conform to the specifications
listed in the Visa Bulletin. Also note that qualifying work
experience will be defined by the Department of Labor’s
O*Net online database: www.onetcenter.org.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO ENTER?
The applicant must be a native of a qualifying
country. However, if a person was born in an ineligible country
but his or her spouse was born in an eligible country, such
a person can claim the spouse's country of birth, provided
both the applicant and spouse are issued visas and enter the
U.S. simultaneously. Also, if a person was born in an ineligible
country, but neither of his or her parents was born or resided
there at the time of the birth, such a person may be able
to claim one of the parent's countries of birth.
In addition, applicants must have either a high school education
or its equivalent, or two years of work experience within
the past five years in an occupation that requires at least
two years of training or experience. If the applicant does
not meet these requirements, he or she should not submit an
entry for the DV program.
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, with the last
name underlined.
- The applicant’s DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH.
- The applicant's NATIVE COUNTRY if it differs
from the country of birth.
- NAME, DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH OF the applicant’s
SPOUSE AND CHILDREN, including legally-adopted and stepchildren,
who are UNDER AGE 21 (all minor, unmarried children must
be listed on the principal applicant’s entry, even
if the applicant is no longer legally married to the child’s
parent, and even if they do not wish to immigrate). The
entry will be disqualified if all children are not listed.
- RECENT PHOTOGRAPH OF THE APPLICANT, the applicant's
SPOUSE, AND ALL CHILDREN. Entry will be disqualified if
photos of all family members are not included.
- The applicant's FULL MAILING ADDRESS and,
if possible, a telephone number;
- THE APPLICANT’S SIGNATURE, using his
or her usual and customary signature in the native language.
Any entry that is not personally signed by the applicant
will be disqualified.
This information must be sent by regular
mail or airmail to one of the six Migrate, Kentucky postal addresses.
Entries must be received during the mail-in period for DV-2003
-- between noon on October 1, 2001 and noon on October 31, 2001.
Applicants must use the correct address designated for their
native region. The entry 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.
Husbands and wives may each submit an entry, if both qualify.
If either were selected, the other would be entitled to derivative
status. Note: Husbands and wives may not sign for each other.
Each applicant must sign his or her own entry.
Only one entry for each applicant may be submitted during the
registration period. Any entry 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 an individual from registration for this program.
Any entry received before or after the specified registration
dates REGARDLESS OF WHEN IT IS POSTMARKED and any entry sent
to an address other than one of those indicated will be disqualified.
All mail received during the registration period and meeting
the above requirements will be individually numbered and successful
entrants will be selected at random by computer regardless of
time of receipt during the specified mail-in period.
Please note: Failure to carefully
follow all of these instructions will disqualify the entry.
WHAT DOES THE TERM "NATIVE" MEAN? IS
THERE ANY SITUATION IN WHICH A PERSON WHO WAS NOT BORN IN A
QUALIFYING COUNTRY MAY APPLY?
In most cases, "native" normally means someone
born in a particular country, regardless of the individual’s
current country of residence or nationality. HOWEVER, if a person
was born in an ineligible country but his/her spouse was born
in an eligible country, such person can claim the spouse’s
country of birth providing both the applicant and spouse are
issued visas and enter the U.S. simultaneously. A minor dependent
child can be charged to the country of birth of a parent; and
an applicant born in a country of which neither parent was a
native or a resident at the time of his/her birth may be charged
to the country of birth of either parent. If the applicant is
claiming nativity in a country other than his/her place of birth,
this must be clearly indicated on the entry, and must show the
native country claimed on the upper left-hand corner of the
envelope in which the registration request is mailed.
WHEN ARE ENTRIES FOR THE DV PROGRAM ACCEPTED
EACH YEAR?
The month-long application period will be
held each fall beginning at noon on the first Monday in October
and last for 30 days. Each year, millions of applicants apply
for the program during the mail-in registration period. The
massive volume of entries creates an enormous amount of work
in selecting and processing successful applicants. Holding the
application period in the fall ensures that successful applicants
are notified in a timely manner. This also gives both them and
our embassies and consulates overseas a full fiscal year (fiscal
year 2003 begins on October 1, 2002 and ends on September 30,
2003) 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. No fee is charged to enter the DV-2003
program. 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. Nevertheless, applicants may use outside assistance,
if 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 U.S. Government employs no outside consultants or
private mail services to operate the DV program. Any intermediaries
or others who offer assistance to prepare DV applicants do so
without the authority or consent of the U.S. Government.
A qualified entry received directly from an applicant has an
equal chance of being selected by the computer at the Kentucky
Consular Center as does an entry received through a paid intermediary
who completes the entry for the applicant. There is no advantage
to mailing early, or mailing from any particular place. Every
entry received during the mail-in period will have an equal
random chance of being selected within its region. However,
receipt of more than ONE ENTRY PER PERSON will disqualify the
person from registration, regardless of the source of that entry.
In addition, the DV entry must be personally signed by the applicant,
or the entry will be disqualified.
Persons who think they have been cheated by a U.S. company or
consultant in connection with the DV Lottery may wish to contact
their local consumer affairs office or the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC). The Internet address for using the online complaint form
is: http://www.FTC.gov. The FTC can also be contacted by telephone,
toll free at 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357) or (202) 382-4357 or
TDD: (202) 326-2502. The mailing address is: Consumer Response
Center, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20580. (The FTC telephone number is only to
report fraud and not to obtain information about application
procedures for the DV Lottery.)
HOW WILL WINNERS BE NOTIFIED?
Only successful applicants will be notified
by mail by the Kentucky Consular Center at the address listed
on their entry. The notifications will be sent between April
and June 2002, along with instructions on how to apply for an
immigrant visa. Applicants must meet all eligibility requirements
under U.S. law to be issued a visa.
Being selected 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 quickly on their immigrant
visa applications. Applicants who are physically present in
the United States may be eligible to apply to the INS for adjustment
of status to permanent resident. However, such applicants must
ensure that INS can complete action on their cases before September
30, 2003. Once all available visas have been issued, the DV
Program for fiscal year 2003 will end. In any event, all DV-2003
visas must, by law, be issued by September 30, 2003.
WHERE CAN ONE RECEIVE INSTRUCTIONS TO
ENTER THE LOTTERY?
Interested persons may call (202)
331-7199, which describes the various means to obtain further
details on entering the DV-2003 program. Applicants overseas
may contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for instructions
on the DV lottery. DV information is also available in the "Visa
Bulletin" on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov or via
the Consular Affairs automated fax at (202) 647-3000 (code 1550).
Calls to the automated fax service must be made from a fax machine
using the receiver or voice option of the caller’s fax
equipment. Applicants may also e-mail kccdv@state.gov
for copies of the instructions on the DV lottery.
1. The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief
Act (NCARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates
that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually allocated diversity
visas will be made available for use under the NCARA program.
The reduction of the limit of available visas to 50,000 began
with DV-2000 and remains in effect for the DV-2003 program.
2. The term "country" in this notice includes countries,
economies and other jurisdictions explicitly listed.
Released on August 1, 2001
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