[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 164 (Monday, August 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45004-45006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-22256]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
[Public Notice 2589]
Registration for the Diversity Immigrant (DV-99) Visa Program
ACTION: Notice of registration period and requirements for the fifth
year of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
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This public notice provides information on the procedures for
obtaining an opportunity to apply for one of the 55,000 immigrant visas
to be made available in the DV category during Fiscal Year 1999. This
notice is issued pursuant to 22 CFR 42.33, which implements sections
201(a)(3), 201(e), 203(c) and 204(a)(1)(G) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(a)(3), 1153(c), and 1154(a)(1)(G)).
Entry Procedures for the 55,000 Immigrant Visas To Be Made Available in
the DV Category During Fiscal Year 1999
Sections 201(a)(3), 201(e), 203(c) and 204(a)(1)(G) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, taken together established, effective
for Fiscal Year 1995 and thereafter, an annual numerical limitation of
55,000 diversity immigrant visas to be made available to persons from
countries that have had low rates of immigration to the United States.
The DV-99 registration mail-in period will last 31 days and will be
held from noon on October 24, 1997 through noon on November 24, 1997.
This will give those eligible, both in the United States and overseas,
ample time to mail in an entry.
How Visas Are Apportioned
The visas will be apportioned among six geographic regions. A
greater number of visas will go to those regions that have had lower
immigration rates as determined pursuant to INA 203(c). There is,
however, a limit of seven percent (or 3,850) on the use of visas by
natives of any one foreign state. The regions, along with their Fiscal
Year 1999 allotments are:
Africa: 21,409; includes all countries on the African continent and
adjacent islands.
Asia: 7,254; extends from Israel to the northern Pacific Islands,
including Indonesia and Hong Kong, but excludes China, both mainland
and Taiwan born, India, Philippines, South Korea, and Vietnam.
Europe: 23,024; extends from Greenland to Russia, including all
countries of the former USSR, but excludes Great Britain (United
Kingdom) and its dependent territories and Poland (Northern Ireland is
eligible).
North America: 8; the Bahamas is the only eligible country this
year (Canada is not eligible).
Oceania: 837; includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
and all countries and islands in the South Pacific.
South America, Central America, and the Caribbean: 2,468; extends
from Central America (Guatemala) and the Caribbean nations to Chile but
excludes Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, and
Mexico.
Eligibility
Natives of ``high admission'' countries are 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 fiscal years for which data are available in the immediate
relative, or family or employment preference categories. [See INA
203(c)(1)(A)]. Each year the Immigration and Naturalization Services
adds the family and employment immigrant admission figures for the
previous five fiscal years to identify the countries that must be
excluded from the annual diversity lottery. For 1999, ``high
admission'' and therefore ineligible countries are:
Canada,
China (mainland and Taiwan born),
Colombia,
The Dominican Republic,
El Salvador,
India,
Jamaica,
Mexico,
The Philippines,
Poland,
South Korea,
United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland), and its dependent
territories, and
Vietnam.
Note that the Hong Kong Administrative Region (SAR) is eligible; it is
treated separately from China pursuant to the 1984 Sino-British Joint
Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, the 1990 Basic Law of the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of
China, and the 1991 U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act, 22 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.
Northern Ireland is treated separately pursuant to INA 203(c)(1)(F).
Requirements
To apply for the 1999 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program an applicant
must properly claim nativity in a qualifying country AND meet either
the education or training requirement of the DV program.
Nativity in most cases is determined by place of birth. However,
any alien born in a nonqualifying country may claim his or her spouse's
birthplace (alternate chargeability) if the spousal relationship was
established at the time the application for DV registration was
[[Page 45005]]
submitted. An alien born in a nonqualifying country in which neither
parent was born nor resident at the time of the alien's birth, can also
claim the birthplace of either parent. (INA 202(b).)
Education or Training: To be eligible to compete for consideration
for a visa under the diversity program an alien must have EITHER a high
school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of
a 12-year course of elementary or secondary education in the United
States OR two years work experience within the past five years in an
occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience.
Applicants who do not meet these requirements SHOULD NOT submit an
entry for the DV program.
Fee and Form
There is no fee and no special petition form that must be completed
to enter. The entry must be typed or clearly printed in the English
alphabet on a sheet of plain paper and must include the information
below (preferably in the following order):
1. Applicant's full name.
Last Name (Surname/Family Name), First Name, and Middle Name (The
Last Name/Surname/Family Name should be italicized.)
Example: Public, George James or Public, Sara Jane or Lopez, Juan
Antonio.
2. Applicant's date and place of birth.
Date of birth: Day, Month, Year
Example: 15 November 1961
Place of birth: City/Town, District/County/Province, Country
Example: Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Please use the current name of the country (e.g. Kazakstan, Russia,
Croatia, Slovakia, Eritrea, etc.), if different from the name in use at
the time of birth.
3. Applicant's native country if different from country of birth.
If an alien is claiming nativity in a country other than his or her
place of birth, this country (instead of the country of birth) must be
clearly indicated on the entry as well as in the upper left corner of
the entry envelope.
4. Name, date and place of birth of applicant's spouse and minor
children, if any.
The spouse and child(ren) of an applicant who is registered for DV-
99 status are automatically entitled to the same status. To obtain a
visa on the basis of this derivative status, a child must be under 21
years of age and unmarried. NOTE: Do Not list parents as they are not
entitled to derivative status.
5. Applicant's mailing address (and phone number, if possible).
The mailing address must be clear and complete, since it will be to
that address that the notification letter for the persons who are
registered will be sent. A telephone number is optional but useful.
6. A recent (preferably less than 6 months old) 1 1/2 inch (37 mm)
square photograph of the principal applicant: The applicant's name must
be printed across the back of the photograph, which must be taped to
the application with clear tape, not attached by staples or paper
clips, which can jam the mail processing equipment. Photocopies are not
acceptable.
7. Principal applicant's signature is required on the entry: The
applicant must personally sign (preferably in the native alphabet) the
entry using his or her normal signature, regardless of whether the
entry is prepared and submitted by the applicant or someone else.
Failure of the principal applicant to personally sign the entry will
result in disqualification. (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 the
postal addresses in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, designated for the
principal applicant's native region (see addresses below). Entries must
be mailed in envelopes [between 6 and 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) long and
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inches (9 to 11 cm) wide]. Postcards are not acceptable,
nor are envelopes inside express mail packets. The upper left-hand
corner of the envelope must show the country to which the applicant is
claiming nativity (or the country to which the alien is claiming
entitlement), full name, and complete mailing address typed or clearly
printed in the English alphabet.
Only one entry for each applicant may be submitted during the
registration period. Duplicate or multiple entries will disqualify
individuals from registration for this program. [See INA
204(a)(1)(6)(i)]. 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 qualifying envelopes 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.
Selected entries will be registered and then notified as specified
below.
Where Entries Should Be Sent
Note Carefully the Importance of Using the Correct Postal ZIP Code
for Each Region.
Asia:
DV-99 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 00210, USA
South America, Central America, and the Caribbean:
DV-99 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 00211, USA
Europe:
DV-99 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 00212, USA
Africa:
DV-99 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 00213, USA
Oceania:
DV-99 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 00214, USA
North America:
DV-97 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 00215, USA
Outside Attorneys or Consultants
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 these 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.
Selection of Winners
The selection of winners is made at random and no outside service
can legitimately improve an applicant's chances of being chosen or
guarantee that an entry will win. Any service that claims it can
improve an applicant's odds is promising something it cannot lawfully
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 or 1-202-835-0159 from 9:00 am to
5:30 pm (EST), Monday through Friday or (202) 835-0159; Internet
address: http://www/fraud.org. The U.S. Department of State does not
investigate consumer complaints against businesses in the United
States.
Notifying Winners
Only successful entrants will be notified. They will be notified by
mail between April and July of 1998 at the address listed on their
entry. Winners will also be sent instructions on how to apply for an
immigrant visa, including information on the fee for immigrant visas
and a separate visa lottery
[[Page 45006]]
surcharge. Successful entrants must complete the immigrant visa
application process and 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 even if the applicant is qualified,
because the number of entries selected and registered is greater than
the number of immigrant visas available. Those selected will,
therefore, need to complete and file their immigrant visa applications
quickly. Once all 55,000 visas have been issued or on September 30,
1999, whichever is sooner, the DV Program for Fiscal Year 1999 will
end.
Obtaining Instructions on Entering the DV Lottery
The above information on entering the DV-99 program is also
available 24 hours a day to persons within the United States 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 DV Lottery and will be requested to provide
their name and address so that printed instructions can be mailed to
them. Applicants overseas may continue to contact the nearest U.S.
Embassy or Consulate for instructions on the DV Lottery.
Dated: August 14, 1997.
Mary A. Ryan,
Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs.
[FR Doc. 97-22256 Filed 8-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-06-P