The National Visa Center at Portsmouth, New Hampshire has registered andnotified the winners of the DV-2000 diversity lottery. The diversity lottery wasconducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration andNationality Act and makes available *50,000 permanent resident visasannually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the UnitedStates. Approximately 110,000 applicants have been registered and notifiedand may now make an application for an immigrant visa. Since it is likely thatsome of the first *50,000 persons registered will not pursue their cases to visaissuance, this larger figure should insure that all DV-2000 numbers will beused during fiscal year 2000 (October 1, 1999 until September 30, 2000).

Applicants registered for the DV-2000 program were selected at random from themore than 8 million qualified entries received during the one-month applicationperiod which ran from noon on October 1, 1998 through noon on October 31,1998. Over 2.5 million applications received inside and outside of the mail-inperiod were disqualified for failing to properly follow directions.

 

The visas have been apportioned among six geographic regions with a maximumof 3,500 visas available to persons born in any single country. During the visainterview, principal applicants must provide proof of a high school education or itsequivalent, or show two years of work experience in an occupation that requires atleast two years of training or experience within the past five years.

Those selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly. Applicants should follow the instructions in their notification letter and must fullycomplete the information requested. Registrants living legally in the United Stateswho wish to apply for adjustment of their status must contact the Immigration andNaturalization Service for information on the requirements and procedures. Oncethe total *50,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2000will end. Selected applicants who do not receive visas by September 30, 2000will derive no further benefit from their DV-2000 registration. Similarly, spousesand children accompanying or following to join DV-2000 principal applicants areonly entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2000.

Only participants in the DV-2000 program who were selected for furtherprocessing have been notified. Those who have not received notification werenot selected and may wish to try for next year's DV-2001 lottery. The dates forthe mail-in period for the DV-2001 lottery are scheduled from noon on October 4,1999 until noon on November 3, 1999. Instructions on entering the DV-2001program will be widely publicized beginning on August 2, 1999.

*The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NCARA) passed by Congress in November 1997stipulated that beginning with DV-99, and for as long as necessary, 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas were made available for use under the NCARA program.

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The following is the statistical breakdown by foreign state chargeability of those registered for the DV-2000 program:

 

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Natives of the following countries were not eligible to participate in DV-2000: Canada, China(mainland and Taiwan, except Hong Kong S.A.R.), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador,Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, South Korea, United Kingdom (exceptNorthern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

Courtesy of United States Department of State Office of the Spokesman Press Release by JAMES P. RUBIN, SPOKESMAN ON May 24, 1999[emphasis added][edited])

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