67 FR 162 pgs. 54251-54256 - Registration for the Diversity Immigrant (DV-2004) Visa Program
Type: NOTICEVolume: 67Number: 162Pages: 54251 - 54256
Docket number: [Public Notice 4103]
FR document: [FR Doc. 02-21411 Filed 8-20-02; 8:45 am]
Agency: State Department
Sub Agency: Bureau of Consular Affairs
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
[Public Notice 4103]
Registration for the Diversity Immigrant (DV-2004) Visa Program
ACTION:
Notice of registration for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
This public notice provides information on how to apply for the DV 2004 Program. This notice is issued pursuant to 22 CFR 42.33(b)(2) which implements sections 201(a)(3), 201(e), 203(c) and 204(a)(1)(I) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, (8 U.S.C. 1151(a)(3) and (e), 1153(c), and 1154(a)(1)(I)).
Entry Procedures for Immigrant Visas To Be Made Available in the DV Category During Fiscal Year 2004
Entries for DV-2004 must be received at one of the Kentucky Consular Center Mailing Addresses listed in this Notice between noon on Monday, October 7, 2002 and noon on Wednesday, November 6, 2002. Entries received before or after these dates will be disqualified regardless of when they are postmarked. Entries mailed to any address other than the Kentucky Consular Center addresses listed in this notice will be disqualified.
How Are Visas Apportioned?
Visas are apportioned among six geographic regions with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and no visas going to countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the past five years. Within each of the six regions, no one country may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in one year. By law, the U.S. Diversity Visa Program makes available a maximum of 55,000 each year. However, the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) 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 NACARA Program. This reduction began in DV-1999 and remains in effect for DV-2004.
For DV-2004, natives of the following are not eligible to apply because they sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years:
Canada
China (mainland-born)
Colombia
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Haiti
India
Jamaica
Mexico
Pakistan
Philippines
South Korea
United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories
Vietnam
(Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.)
What Are the Requirements To Apply for the DV-2004 Visas?
Chargeability
To enter, an applicant must be able to claim nativity in an eligible country, and must meet either the education or training requirement of the DV program. Nativity in most cases is determined by the applicant's place of birth. However, if a person was born in an ineligible country but his/her spouse was born in an eligible country, such person can claim the spouse's country of birth rather than his/her own. Also, if a person was born in an ineligible country, but neither of his/her parents was born there or resided there at the time of the birth, such person may be able to claim nativity in one of the parents' country of birth.
Education or Training
To enter, an applicant must have either a high school education or its equivalent, defined in the U.S. as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary 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. U.S. Department of Labor definitions, as indicated in the O*Net OnLine database, will apply. If a person does not meet these requirements, he/she should not submit an entry to the DV program.
Submitting an Entry
Only one entry may be submitted by or for each applicant during the registration period. Submission of more than one entry will disqualify the person. The applicant must personally sign the entry, in his/her native alphabet. Neither an initialed signature nor block printing of the applicant's name will be accepted and will result in the disqualification of the entry. Failure of the applicant to personally sign his/her own entry will result in disqualification.
Completing the Entry
There is no specific form for the entry. Failure to provide all of the information listed below will disqualify the applicant. Simply use a plain sheet of paper and type or clearly print in the English (Roman) alphabet (preferably in the order listed below):
1. Full name, with the last (surname/family) name underlined:
Examples: Public, Sara Jane (or) Lopez, Juan Antonio.
2. Date and place of birth:
Date: Day, Month, Year.
Example: 15 November 1961.
Place: City/Town, District/County/Province, Country.
Example: Munich, Bavaria, Germany.
The name of the country should be that which is currently in use for the place where the applicant was born (For example, Slovenia, rather than Yugoslavia; Kazakhstan rather than Soviet Union.)
3. The applicant's native country if different from country of birth:
If the applicant is claiming nativity in a country other than his/her place of birth, this must be clearly indicated on the entry. This information must match with what is put on the upper left corner of the entry envelope. (See "MAILING THE ENTRY" below.) If an applicant is claiming nativity through spouse or parent, please indicate this on the entry. (See "REQUIREMENTS" section for more information on this item.
4. Name, date and place of birth of the applicant's spouse and unmarried children who are under the age of 21 (other than children who are already U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents). Include natural children, stepchildren, as well as all legally-adopted children. List spouse and children regardless of whether or not they reside with you and whether or not they will immigrate with you. (Failure to provide ALL of this information will disqualify the applicant.) Note: married children and children 21 years or older will not qualify for the DV Program.
5. Full mailing address:
This must be clear and complete, as any communications will be sent there. A telephone number is optional, but useful.
6. Photographs. Attach a recent photograph, either black and white or in color, of the applicant, spouse and each child.
If photos do not conform to the following specifications, the entry will be disqualified:
The photo must between 1 1⁄2 by 1 l⁄2 and 2 by 2 inches (37-50 mm) square in size, with the name and date of birth printed on the back of the applicant's, spouse's and child's photo.
The person photographed must be directly facing the camera. The head should not be tilted up, down or to the side and should cover about 50% of the area of the photo.
The person should be in front of a neutral, light-colored background.
The face must be in focus.
The person photographed may not wear a hat or dark glasses or other paraphernalia which detracts from the face.
Photos with the alien wearing head coverings or hats are only acceptable due to religious beliefs, and even then, may not obscure any portion of the face of the applicant.
Photos of applicants wearing tribal, military, airline or other headware not specifically religious in nature will not be accepted.
The photograph (not a photocopy) should be attached to the entry with clear tape-DO NOT use staples or paperclips, which can jam the mail processing equipment.
7. Signature: The entry will be disqualified if the entry is not personally signed by the applicant with the usual and customary signature in his/her native alphabet. Neither an initialed signature nor block printing of the applicant's name will be accepted.
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[Federal Register graphic "EN21AU02.015" is not available. Please view the graphic in the PDF version of this document.]
Mailing the Entry
Submit the entry by regular or airmail to the address matching the region of the applicant's country of nativity. Entries sent by express or priority mail, second day airmail, fax, hand, messenger, or any means requiring receipts or special handling will not be processed.
• 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 are not acceptable.
• 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, followed by the applicant's name and full return address, even if both are the same.
Failure to provide this information will disqualify the entry.
Mailing address: The mailing addresses for the six regions are as follows:
| Africa | (Includes all countries on the African continent and adjacent islands): | DV Program, Kentucky Consular Center, 1001 Visa Crest, Migrate, KY 41901-1000,USA. |
| Asia | (Extends from Israel to the Northern PacificIslands, and includes Indonesia): | DV Program KentuckyConsularCenter, 2002 VisaCrest,Migrate, KY 41902-2000,USA. |
| Europe | (Extends from Greenland to Russia, and includes all countries of the former USSR) | DV Program KentuckyConsularCenter, 3003 VisaCrest,Migrate, KY 41903-3000,USA. |
| South America/Central America/Caribbean | (Extends from Central America (Guatemala) andthe Caribbean nations to Chile.) | DV Program KentuckyConsularCenter,4004 VisaCrest,Migrate, KY 41904-4000,USA. |
| Oceania | (Includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua NewGuinea and all countries and islands of the South Pacific) | DV Program KentuckyConsularCenter, 5005 VisaCrest,Migrate, KY 41905-5000,USA. |
| North America | (Includes the Bahamas) | DV Program KentuckyConsularCenter, 6006 VisaCrest,Migrate, KY 41906-6000,USA. |
[Federal Register graphic "EN21AU02.016" is not available. Please view the graphic in the PDF version of this document.]
Selection
Every application received during the mail-in period and prepared in accordance with these instructions will have an equal random chance of being selected within its region. No outside service can legitimately improve an applicant's chances of being chosen or guarantee that an entry will win.
Important notice: In order to actually receive a visa, applicants selected in the random drawing must meet all eligibility requirements under U.S. law, including any applicable special processing requirements established in response to the events of September 11, 2001. These requirements may significantly increase the level of scrutiny required and time necessary for processing of applications for natives of some countries listed in this notice; particularly those where a higher level activity related to post-September 11 concerns has been indicated. These include, but are not limited to, countries identified as state sponsors of terrorism. Processing of applications and issuance of diversity visas to successful applicants and their eligible family members MUST occur by September 30, 2004. Family members may not obtain diversity visas to follow to join the applicant in the U.S. after this date. There is NO initial fee, other than postage required to enter the DV-2004 program. The use of an outside intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV-2004 entry is entirely at the applicant's discretion. Qualified entries received directly from applicants or through intermediaries have equal chances of being selected by computer. There is no advantage to mailing early, or mailing from any particular locale. However, more than one application per person will disqualify the person from registration.
Determining 2004 DV Countries
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. Natives of the following countries are eligible for the 2004 DV Program:
Africa
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia, The
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Asia
Afghanistan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Burma
Cambodia
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Kuwait
Laos
Lebanon
Macau Special Administrative Region
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Nepal
North Korea
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Syria
Taiwan
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
Asia countries whose natives do not qualify for this year's diversity program: China (mainland-born), India, Pakistan, South Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam.
Europe
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Estonia
Finland
France (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Netherlands (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Northern Ireland *
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Vatican City
Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of
European countries whose natives do not qualify for this year's diversity program: Great Britain (including Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, St. Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands.
*NOTE:
For the purposes of the diversity program only, Northern Ireland is treated separately and DOES qualify for this year's program.
North America
Bahamas, The
In North America, natives of CANADA do not qualify for this year's diversity program.
Oceania
Australia (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Fiji
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia, Federated States of
Nauru
New Zealand (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
South American, Central American, and the Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Ecuador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay
Venezuela
Countries in this region whose natives do not qualify for this year's diversity program: Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico.
Notifying Successful Entrants
Only successful entrants will be notified. They will be notified by mail between April and July of 2003 at the address listed on their entry. Successful entrants 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 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 in the DV Lottery does not automatically guarantee issuance of 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 the diversity visas have been issued or on September 30, 2004, whichever is sooner, the DV Program for Fiscal Year 2004 will end.
Obtaining Instructions on Entering the DV Lottery
Interested persons may call (202) 331-7199, which describes the various means to obtain further details on entering the DV-2004 program. Applicants overseas may contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for instructions on the DV lottery. DV information is also available in the Visa Bulletin, on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov or via the Consular Affairs automated fax at (202) 647-3000 (code 1103). Calls to the automated fax service must be made from a fax machine using the receiver or voice option of the caller's fax equipment.
George Lannon,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 02-21411 Filed 8-20-02; 8:45 am]
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