Registration for the Diversity Immigrant (DV-99) Visa Program

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

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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