How long do applicants who are selected
remain entitled to apply for visas in the DV-2002 category?
1. WHAT DOES THE TERM "NATIVE" MEAN? ARE THERE
ANY SITUATIONS IN WHICH PERSONS WHO WERE NOT BORN
IN A QUALIFYING COUNTRY MAY APPLY?
"Native" ordinarily means someone born in a particular
country, regardless of the individual's current country
of residence or nationality. "Native" also means someone
entitled to be "charged" to a particular country under
the provisions of Section 202(b) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act. Applicants for DV-2003 registration
may claim chargeability to the country of birth of
a spouse providing both the applicant and spouse are
issued visas and enter the US 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. An applicant who claims
alternate chargeability must include information to
that effect on the application for registration (see
number 3 of the application information items on page
3 of this Visa Bulletin), and must show the native
country claimed on the upper left hand corner of the
envelope in which the registration request is mailed.
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2. ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR NEW REQUIREMENTS
IN THE APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR THIS DIVERSITY VISA
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
on page 3. Entries mailed to any other address will
be disqualified. The information required on the entry
and on the envelope in which it is sent is specified
in detail earlier in this Visa Bulletin. Each entry
must be personally signed by the applicant - see Page
2. Photographs of the applicant and all his/her dependents
are now required, and the photos must conform to the
specifications listed on Page 2. Qualifying work experience
will no longer be defined by the Department of Labor's
Dictionary of Occupational Titles, but rather by the
more current information contained in the Department
of Labor's O*Net OnLine database - see page 1. Please
also note changes to the list of eligible DV countries
at the end of this bulletin. Back
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3. ARE SIGNATURES AND PHOTOGRAPHS REQUIRED FOR
EACH FAMILY MEMBER, OR ONLY FOR THE PRINCIPAL APPLICANT?
Only the principal applicant is required to personally
sign the entry. Recent and individual photos of the
applicant, his/her spouse and all children are required.
Family or group photos are not accepted. Check the
information on the signature and photo requirements
on Page 2 of this bulletin. Back
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4. WHY DO CERTAIN COUNTRIES NOT QUALIFY FOR THE
DIVERSITY PROGRAM?
Diversity visas are intended to provide an immigration
opportunity for persons from countries other than
the countries which send large numbers of immigrants
to the US The law states that no diversity visas shall
be provided for "high admission" countries. These
countries are those from which a total of 50,000 persons
in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based visa
categories immigrated to the United States during
the previous five years. Each year, the Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS) adds the family and
employment immigrant admission figures for the previous
five years in order to identify the countries that
must be excluded from the annual diversity lottery.
Because there is a separate determination made before
each annual DV entry period, the list of countries
that do not qualify may change from one year to the
next. Back
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5. WHAT IS THE NUMERICAL LIMIT FOR DV-2003?
By law, the US diversity immigration program makes
available a maximum of 55,000 permanent residence
visas each year to eligible persons. However, the
Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NCARA)
passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that
beginning as early as DV-99, and for as long as necessary,
5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas
will be made available for use under the NCARA program.
The actual reduction of the limit to 50,000 began
with DV-2000 and remains in effect for the DV-2003
program. Back
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6. WHAT ARE THE REGIONAL DIVERSITY VISA (DV)
LIMITS FOR DV-2003?
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
determines the DV regional limits for each year according
to a formula specified in Section 203(c) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (INA). Once the INS has completed
the calculations, the DV-2003 regional visa limits
will be announced.
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7. WHEN ARE ENTRIES FOR THE DV PROGRAM ACCEPTED
EACH YEAR?
The month-long DV entry period begins each fall at
noon on the first Monday in October and lasts for
30 days. Each year millions 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 entry period in the fall will ensure successful
applicants are notified in a more timely manner, and
give both them and our embassies and consulates overseas
more time to prepare and complete the entries for
visa issuance. Back
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8. MAY PERSONS WHO ARE IN THE U.S.APPLY FOR THE
PROGRAM?
Yes, an applicant may be in the US or in another
country, and the entry may be mailed from the US or
from abroad. Back
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9. IS EACH APPLICANT LIMITED TO ONLY ONE ENTRY
DURING THIS DV-2003 REGISTRATION PERIOD?
Yes, the law allows only one entry by or for each
person during each registration period; applicants
for whom more than one entry is submitted will be
disqualified. Applicants may be disqualified at time
of selection as a winner, or at the time of the visa
interview or at any time during the process if more
than one entry is detected. However, applicants may
apply for the program each year during the regular
one-month registration period. Back
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10. MAY A HUSBAND AND A WIFE EACH SUBMIT A SEPARATE
ENTRY?
Yes, a husband and a wife may each submit one entry.
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. Back
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11. WHAT FAMILY MEMBERS MUST I INCLUDE ON MY
ENTRY FOR DV-2003?
On your entry you must list your spouse, that is
husband or wife, and all unmarried children under
21 years of age. You must list your spouse even if
you are currently separated from him/her. However,
if you are legally divorced, you do not need to list
your former spouse. For customary marriages, the important
date is the date of the original marriage ceremony,
not the date on which the marriage is registered.
You must list ALL your children who are unmarried
and under the age of 21 years, whether they are your
natural children, your spouse's children by a previous
marriage, or children you have formally adopted in
accordance with the laws of your country. List all
children even if they no longer reside with you. The
fact that you have listed family members on your entry
does not mean that they later must travel with you.
They may choose to remain behind. However, if you
include an eligible dependent on your visa application
forms that you failed to include on your original
entry, your case will be disqualified. (This only
applies to persons who were dependents at the time
the original application was submitted, not those
acquired at a later date.) Your spouse may still submit
a separate entry, even though he or she is listed
on your entry, as long as both entries include details
on all dependents in your family. See question 10
above. Back
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12. MUST EACH APPLICANT SUBMIT HIS/HER OWN ENTRY,
OR MAY SOMEONE ACT ON BEHALF OF AN APPLICANT?
Applicants may prepare and submit their own entries,
or have someone submit the entry for them. Regardless
of whether an entry is submitted by the applicant
directly, or assistance is provided by an attorney,
friend, relative, etc., only one entry may be submitted
in the name of each person. The applicant's original
signature is required on the entry, regardless whether
it is prepared and submitted by the applicant or by
someone else. If the applicant does not personally
sign the entry with his or her usual and customary
signature, the entry will be disqualified. If the
entry is selected, the notification letter will be
sent only to the mailing address provided on the entry.
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13. WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION OR
WORK EXPERIENCE?
The law and regulations require that every applicant
must have at least a high school education or its
equivalent or, within the past five years, have two
years of work experience in an occupation requiring
at least two years training or experience. A "high
school education or equivalent" is defined as successful
completion of a twelve-year course of elementary and
secondary education in the United States or successful
completion in another country of a formal course of
elementary and secondary education comparable to a
high school education in the United States. Documentary
proof of education or work experience should not be
submitted with the lottery entry, but must be presented
to the consular officer at the time of the visa interview.
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14. HOW WILL WINNERS BE SELECTED?
At the Kentucky Consular Center, all mail received
at each of the six geographic regional addresses will
be individually numbered. After the end of the application
period, a computer will randomly select entries from
among all the mail received for each geographic region.
Within each region, the first letter randomly selected
will be the first case registered, the second letter
selected the second registration, etc. It makes no
difference whether an entry is received early or late
in the application period; all entries received during
the mail-in period will have an equal chance of being
selected within each region. When an entry has been
selected, the applicant will be sent a notification
letter by the Kentucky Consular Center, which will
provide visa application instructions. The Kentucky
Consular Center will continue to process the case
until those who are selected are instructed to appear
for visa interviews at a US consular office, or until
those able to do so apply at an INS office in the
United States for change of status.
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15. MAY WINNING APPLICANTS ADJUST THEIR STATUS
WITH THE INS?
Yes, provided they are otherwise eligible to adjust
status under the terms of Section 245 of the INA,
selected applicants who are physically present in
the United States may apply to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) for adjustment of status
to permanent resident. Applicants must ensure that
INS can COMPLETE ACTION on their cases, including
processing of any overseas derivatives, before September
30, 2003, since on that date registrations for the
DV-2003 program expire. No visa numbers for the DV-2003
program will be available after midnight on September
30, 2003 under any circumstances.
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16. WILL APPLICANTS WHO ARE NOT ELECTED BE INFORMED?
No, applicants who are not selected will receive
no response to their entry. Only those who are selected
will be informed. All notification letters are sent
within about nine months of the end of the application
period to the address indicated on the entry. Anyone
who does NOT receive a letter will know that his/her
application has not been selected.
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17. HOW MANY APPLICANTS WILL BE SELECTED?
There are 50,000 DV visas available for DV-2003,
but more than that number of individuals will be selected.
Because it is likely that some of the first 50,000
persons who are selected will not pursue their cases
to visa issuance, more than 50,000 entries will be
selected by the Kentucky Consular Center to ensure
that all of the available DV-2003 visas are issued.
However, this also means that there will not be a
sufficient number of visas for all those who are initially
selected. All applicants who are selected will be
informed promptly of their place on the list. Interviews
with those selected will begin in early October 2002.
The Kentucky Consular Center will send appointment
letters to selected applicants 30-60 days before the
scheduled interviews with US consular officers at
overseas posts. Each month visas will be issued, visa
number availability permitting, to those applicants
who are ready for issuance during that month. Once
all of the 50,000 DV-2003 visas have been issued,
the program for the year will end. In principle, visa
numbers could be finished before September 2003. Selected
applicants who wish to receive visas must be prepared
to act promptly on their cases. Random selection by
the Kentucky Consular Center computer does not automatically
guarantee that you will receive a visa.
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18. IS THERE A MINIMUM AGE FOR APPLICANTS TO
APPLY FOR THE DV-2003 PROGRAM?
There is no minimum age to apply for the program,
but the requirement of a high school education or
work experience for each principal applicant at the
time of application will effectively disqualify most
persons who are under age 18. Back
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19. WILL THERE BE ANY SPECIAL FEE FOR DV-2003
CASE PROCESSING?
There is no fee for submitting an entry, and no fee
should be included with the entry sent to the mailing
addresses indicated above. A special DV case processing
fee will be payable later by persons whose entries
are actually selected and processed at a US consular
section for DV-2003 visas. DV-2003 applicants, like
other immigrant visa applicants, must also pay the
regular visa fees at the time of visa issuance. Details
of required fees will be included with the instructions
sent by the Kentucky Consular Center to applicants
who are selected. Back
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20. ARE DV-2003 APPLICANTS SPECIALLY ENTITLED
TO APPLY FOR A WAIVER OF ANY OF THE GROUNDS OF VISA
INELIGIBILITY?
No. Applicants are subject to all grounds of ineligibility
for immigrant visas specified in the Immigration and
Nationality Act. There are no special provisions for
the waiver of any ground of visa ineligibility other
than those ordinarily provided in the Act.
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21. MAY PERSONS WHO ARE ALREADY REGISTERED FOR
AN IMMIGRANT VISA IN ANOTHER CATEGORY APPLY FOR THE
DV-2003 PROGRAM?
Yes, such persons may apply for the DV-2003 program.
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22. HOW LONG DO APPLICANTS WHO ARE SELECTED REMAIN
ENTITLED TO APPLY FOR VISAS IN THE DV-2002 CATEGORY?
Persons selected in the DV-2003 lottery are entitled
to apply for visa issuance only during fiscal year
2003, i.e., from October 2002 through September 2003.
Applicants must obtain the DV visa or adjust status
by the end of the Fiscal Year (September 30, 2003).
There is no carry-over of DV benefits into the next
year for persons who are selected but who do not obtain
visas during FY-2003. Also, spouses and children who
derive status from a DV-2003 registration can only
obtain visas in the DV category between October 2002
and September 2003. Applicants who apply overseas
will receive an appointment letter from the Kentucky
Consular Center 30-60 days before the scheduled appointment.
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