Overview

The Department of State issued an interim rule changing the way foreign nationals petition for the Diversity Visa Program from a standard mail-in system to an electronic system utilizing a designated internet website. This rule requires foreign nationals to submit their petitions exclusively via the internet. The purpose of this new rule is to make the petitioning process less prone to fraud, to improve efficiency and to reduce the cost of the diversity visa program.

Fundamentals of the Diversity Visa Program

Every year, 50,000 permanent resident visas are made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Applicants who meet certain eligibility requirements are selected, and their petitions are rank ordered, through a computer-generated random lottery drawing. Foreign nationals whose petitions are selected are eligible to apply for visas in rank order on a first come, first serve basis, until all 50,000 visas for the fiscal year are issued, or the fiscal year ends, whichever comes first.

The visas are distributed among six geographic regions. Regions with lower rates of immigration receive a greater number of visas. Within each region, no one country may receive more than seven percent of available visas in any one year. Countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. within the past five years are not eligible to participate in the Diversity Visa Program.

Natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply for the Diversity Visa Program 2005 (DV-2005):

· Canada;
· China (mainland-born);
· Colombia;
· Dominican Republic;
· El Salvador;
· Haiti;
· India;
· Jamaica;
· Mexico;
· Pakistan;
· Philippines;
· Russia;
· South Korea;
· United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories; and
· Vietnam
Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.
Changes in Petition Procedure
Foreign nationals participating in the Diversity Visa Program will be required to submit their petitions electronically, using a website created for this purpose. Entries must be submitted between Saturday, November 1, 2003 and Tuesday, December 30, 2003. During the 60-day registration period, applicants may access the entry form at www.DVLOTTERY.STATE.GOV. Mail in entries will not be accepted.

Digital photographs of the petitioner, the petitioner's spouse and unmarried children under twenty-one who will be seeking to accompany or follow to join the petitioner, must be attached to the entry form. The photographs must meet certain requirements as to size, composition and quality. Since the petition must be filed electronically, the current requirement that the petition and photographs be signed, will be eliminated.

Teressa Accurso Dickman
Law Offices of Teressa Accurso Dickman, P.A.
www.ImmigratingToAmerica.com