Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is announced for the year 2000 (08/16/98)

Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is announced for the year 2000

Below is a statement provided by James Rubin, spokesman for the U.S. Department of State, about the 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 Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act 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.) The DV-2000 registration mail-in period will be held from noon on Thursday, October 1, 1998, through noon on Saturday, October 31, 1998.

Q: How are the visas being apportioned?

A: 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.

Q: Who is not eligible?

A: 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 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 the year 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.

Q: What are the requirements?

A: 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 English 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 six 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 that 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, N.H. 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 English 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.

Q: Where should entries be sent?

A: The mailing address for all entries is the same, except for the zip code.

That address is:

DV-2000 Program,
National Visa Center,
Portsmouth, NH
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.

Q: Why are you holding the registration for the DV lottery in October?

A: The National Visa Center typically receives between 6 million and 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.

Q: Is it necessary to use an outside attorney or consultant?

A: The decision to hire an attorney or consultant is entirely up to the applicant. Procedures for entering the diversity visa 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 changes 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 Immigrant Visa Program lottery may wish to contact their local consumer affairs office or the National Fraud Information Center at 1-800-876-7060 from 9 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.

Q: How will winners be notified?

A: 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 $75 DV 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 quickly on their immigrant visa applications. 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.

Q: Where can one receive instructions to enter the lottery?

A: 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 (CA) autofax number. The CA webpage address is http://travel.state.gov. The autofax number is (202) 647-3000.

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