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Diversity Visa 2003
September 10, 2001
As
many of you already know, it is again the time of year to apply for
the green card lottery. From
noon on October 1 to noon on October 31, the US Department of State
will be accepting entries for this year’s green card contest.
Although using a lawyer is probably the safest way to do
this, many people have been able to do this themselves.
This
article will give you new information about this year’s program
– called “DV-2003” (“DV” for “Diversity Visa,” and
”2003” because the winners will be eligible to apply for visas
or green cards in fiscal year 2003).
There are a few changes to last years’ rules, and a few
changes to the countries that are eligible.
Fortunately, all NIS countries are still eligible.
More detailed instructions are available from the State
Department Website.
DV-2003
will make permanent residence visas available to persons meeting the
simple, but strict, eligibility requirements.
The entries must be received
between noon on October 1 and noon on October 31 at the “Kentucky
Consular Center” at the specific address for the region that
contains the country of which the applicant is a “native.”
(“Native” is explained below.)
The basic requirements for entry
are as follows:
The
applicant must be a native
of a qualifying country. In most cases, a “native” of a country
means the country in which the applicant was born.
The applicant must have either a
high school education,; OR two years of work experience within the
past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of
training or experience to perform.
Application Procedure
Although the application is very
simple, even a small deviation from the acceptable procedure will
cause a needless disqualification.
All
entries by an applicant will be disqualified if more than ONE entry
for the applicant is received, regardless of who submitted the
entry.
The
entry will be disqualified if the entry is not PERSONALLY SIGNED by
the applicant with his/her usual and customary signature in
his/her native alphabet, as it would appear on his/her passport or
other official or contractual obligations.
The
entry will be disqualified if all required photos are not attached.
Recent photographs of the applicant and his/her spouse and each
child, including all natural children as well as all legally-adopted
and stepchildren, even if the children no longer reside with the
applicant, must be attached to the entry.
The photos must, of course, match very specific requirements,
including:
The
photos must be 2 inches (50mm) square, with the applicant’s,
spouse's, or child's name and date of birth printed on the back. The
applicant, spouse, or child must be directly facing the camera; the
head of the person being photographed should not be tilted up, down
or to the side, and should cover about 50% of the area of the photo.
The photo should be taken with the person being photographed in
front of a neutral, light-colored background. Photos in which the
face of the person being photographed is not in focus will not be
accepted. Photos in which the person being photographed is wearing a
hat or glasses with dark lens or in which the face is obscured in
any way will not be accepted.
There is no specific format for the
entry. Simply use a plain sheet of paper and type or clearly print
in the English (Roman)
alphabet the following information.
1.
FULL NAME, with the last
(surname/family) name underlined
2. DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH
Date: Day, Month, Year
Place: City/Town, District/County/Province, Country (The name of the
country should be that which is currently in use for the place where
the applicant was born).
3.
THE APPLICANT’S NATIVE COUNTRY IF DIFFERENT FROM COUNTRY OF BIRTH
4.
NAME, DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH OF THE APPLICANT’S SPOUSE AND ALL
NATURAL CHILDREN, AS WELL AS ALL LEGALLY-ADOPTED AND STEPCHILDREN,
WHO ARE UNMARRIED AND UNDER THE AGE OF 21 YEARS, EVEN IF YOU ARE NO
LONGER LEGALLY MARRIED TO THE CHILD’S PARENT, AND EVEN IF THE
CHILD DOES NOT CURRENTLY RESIDE WITH YOU AND/OR WILL NOT IMMIGRATE
WITH YOU.
5.
FULL MAILING ADDRESS
6.
PHOTOGRAPH. Attach recent photographs of the applicant, the
applicant’s spouse, and all children. Print the name and date of
birth of each family member on the back of each photograph.
7.
SIGNATURE. The applicant
must personally sign the entry, using his/her usual and
customary signature, as it
would appear on his or her passport or other official or contractual
obligations.
Mailing the Entry.
For DV-2003, the world is divided
into six regions, and each region has a separate address. The DV
entry should be mailed to the address listed below for the
applicant’s region of nativity.
For countries in the region of Europe (including Russia and
Ukraine) the address is:
DV-2003
Program
Kentucky Consular Center
3003 Visa Crest
Migrate, KY 41903-3000, U.S.A.
For
Israel, which is included in the region of Asia, the address is:
DV-2003
Program
Kentucky Consular Center
2002 Visa Crest
Migrate, KY 41902-2000, U.S.A.
You must submit the entry by
regular or airmail to the correct address matching the region of the
applicant’s country of nativity, otherwise it will be rejected.
The envelope must be between 6 and
10 inches (15 to 25 cm) long and 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 inches (9 to 11 cm)
wide. Postcards or envelopes inside express or oversized mail
packets are NOT acceptable. In the upper left-hand corner of the
envelope the applicant must write his/her country of nativity (see
instruction 3 above), followed by the applicant’s name and full
return address. The
applicant must provide both the country of nativity and the country
of the address, even if both are the same. Failure
to provide this information will disqualify the entry.
Selection
of Applicants
Applicants
will be selected at random by computer from among all qualified
entries. Those selected will be notified by mail between
April and June 2002 and will be provided further instructions,
including information on fees connected with immigration to the U.S.
Persons not selected will
NOT receive any notification. Spouses
and unmarried children of successful applicants under age 21 may
also apply for visas to accompany or follow to join the principal
applicant. DV-2003 visas will be issued between October 1, 2002 and
September 30, 2003.
Processing
of entries and issuance of diversity visas to successful applicants
and their eligible family members MUST occur by midnight on
September 30, 2003. Under no circumstances can diversity visas be
issued or adjustments approved after this date, nor can family
members obtain diversity visas to follow to join the applicant in
the U.S. after this date.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact John Byrley at
tel: 410-719-1501.
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