Bureau of Consular Affairs; Registration for the Diversity Immigrant (DV-2000) Visa Program

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 2864]

Bureau of Consular Affairs; Registration for the Diversity

Immigrant (DV-2000) Visa Program

ACTION: Notice of registration for the sixth 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 50,000 immigrant visas

to be made available in the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) category

during Fiscal Year 2000. (Note: The Nicaraguan and Central American

Relief Act (NCARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that

beginning with DV-99, and for as long as necessary, 5,000 annually-

allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the

NCARA 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)(G) of

the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, (8 U.S.C. 1151, 1153,

and 1154(a)(1)(G)). The Department published regulations related to

this Notice in the Federal Register on March 31, 1994 (59 FR 15303) and

on January 22, 1996 (61 FR1523).

Entry Procedures for the 50,000 Immigrant Visas To Be Made

Available in the DV Category During Fiscal Year 2000.

Entries for the DV-2000 mail-in period must be received between

noon (Eastern time) on Thursday, October 1, 1998 and noon (Eastern

time) on Saturday, October 31, 1998. Entries received before or after

these dates will be disqualified regardless of when they are

postmarked. Entries sent to an incorrect address will also be

disqualified.

How Visas Are Apportioned

Visas are apportioned among six geographic regions with a greater

number of visas going to regions with

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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. No one

country can receive more than 3,500 diversity visas in any one year.

For DV-2000, natives of the following are NOT ELIGIBLE to apply:

CANADA

CHINA (mainland and Taiwan, except Hong Kong S.A.R.)

COLOMBIA

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

EL SALVADOR

HAITI

INDIA

JAMAICA

MEXICO

PHILIPPINES

POLAND

SOUTH KOREA

UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories

VIETNAM

Requirements

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 will apply.

If a person does not meet these requirements, he/she SHOULD NOT submit

an entry to the DV program.

Procedures for Submitting an Entry Form

Only ONE entry form 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,

preferably in his/her native alphabet. Failure of the applicant to

personally sign his/her own entry will result in disqualification.

Completing the Entry Form

There is no specific format for the entry. Simply use a plain sheet

of paper and type or clearly print in the English alphabet (preferably

in the following order): Failure to provide ALL of this information

will disqualify the applicant.

FULL NAME, with the last (surname/family) name italicized.

EXAMPLES: Public, Sara Jane (or) Lopez, Juan Antonio.

2. DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH:

Date: Day, Month, Year EXAMPLE: November 15, 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 (Slovenia, rather than

Yugoslavia; Kazakstan rather than Soviet Union, for example).

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

CHILDREN (IF ANY).

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. PHOTOGRAPH. Attach a recent, preferably less than 6 months old,

photograph of the applicant, 1.5 inches (37 mm) square in size, with

the applicant's name printed on the back. 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: Failure to personally sign the entry will disqualify

the applicant.

Mailing the Entry

Submit the entry by regular or air mail to the address matching the

region of the applicant's country of nativity. Entries sent by express

or priority mail, fax, hand, messenger, or any means requiring receipts

or special handling will not be processed.

The envelope must 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, nor are envelopes inside express or oversized mail packets.

In the upper left hand corner of the envelope the applicant must show

his/her country of nativity, followed by the applicant's name and full

return address. The applicant must provide both the country of nativity

and the country of the address, even if both are the same. Failure to

provide this information will disqualify the entry. The mailing address

for all entries is the same EXCEPT for the ZIP (POSTAL) CODE. The

address is: DV-2000 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth NH (ZIP

CODE as appropriate. See below.) U.S.A.

The Zip Codes are:

ASIA--00210

SOUTH AMERICA/CENTRAL AMERICA/CARIBBEAN--00211

EUROPE--00212

AFRICA--00213

OCEANIA--00214

NORTH AMERICA--00215

For the DV Program, the regions are divided as follows:

(1) ASIA: ZIP CODE: 00210 (extends from Israel to the northern

Pacific islands, and includes Indonesia):

AFGHANISTAN

BAHRAIN

BANGLADESH

BHUTAN

BRUNEI

BURMA

CAMBODIA

HONG KONG S.A.R.

INDONESIA

IRAN

IRAQ

ISRAEL

JAPAN

JORDAN

NORTH KOREA

KUWAIT

LAOS

LEBANON

MALAYSIA

MALDIVES

MONGOLIA

NEPAL

OMAN

PAKISTAN

QATAR

SAUDI ARABIA

SINGAPORE

SRI LANKA

SYRIA

THAILAND

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

YEMEN

In Asia CHINA-mainland born and Taiwan born, INDIA, PHILIPPINES,

SOUTH KOREA, and VIETNAM DO

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NOT QUALIFY for this year's diversity program. HONG KONG S.A.R. DOES

QUALIFY. MACAU WILL BECOME INELIGIBLE ON DECEMBER 20, 1999. All DV-2000

visas for Macau-born selected entries must be issued by that date.

(2) SOUTH AMERICA/CENTRAL AMERICA/CARIBBEAN: ZIP CODE: 00211

(extends from Central America (Guatemala) and the Caribbean nations to

Chile.)

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA

ARGENTINA

ARGENTINA

BARBADOS

BELIZE

BOLIVIA

BRAZIL

CHILE

COSTA RICA

CUBA

DOMINICA

ECUADOR

GRENADA

GUATEMALA

GUYANA

HONDURAS

NICARAGUA

PANAMA

PARAGUAY

PERU

ST. KITTS & NEVIS

ST. LUCIA

ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES

SURINAME

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

URUGUAY

VENEZUELA

In South America COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EL SALVADOR, HAITI,

JAMAICA, AND MEXICO DO NOT QUALIFY for this year's Diversity Program.

(3) EUROPE : ZIP CODE: 00212 (Extends from Greenland to Russia, and

includes all countries of the former USSR):

ALBANIA

ANDORRA

ARMENIA

AUSTRIA

AZERBAIJAN

BELARUS

BELGIUM

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

BULGARIA

CROATIA

CYPRUS

CZECH REPUBLIC

DENMARK*

ESTONIA

FINLAND

FRANCE*

GEORGIA

GERMANY

GREECE

HUNGARY

ICELAND

IRELAND

ITALY

KAZAKSTAN

KYRGYZSTAN

LATVIA

LICHTENSTEIN

LITHUANIA

LUXEMBOURG

MACEDONIA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF

MALTA

MOLDOVA

MONACO

MONTENEGRO

NETHERLANDS*

NORTHERN IRELAND

NORWAY

PORTUGAL* **

ROMANIA

RUSSIA

SAN MARINO

SERBIA

SLOVAKIA

SLOVENIA

SPAIN

SWEDEN

SWITZERLAND

TAJIKISTAN

TURKEY

TURKMENISTAN

UKRAINE

UZBEKISTAN

VATICAN CITY

NB: In Europe GREAT BRITAIN and POLAND DO NOT QUALIFY for this

year's diversity program. GREAT BRITAIN (UNITED KINGDOM) includes the

following dependent areas: ANGUILLA, BERMUDA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS,

CAYMAN ISLANDS, FAULKLAND ISLANDS, GIBRALTAR, MONTSERRAT, PITCAIRN, ST.

HELENA, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. Note that for purposes of the

Diversity Program only, Northern Ireland is treated separately;

NORTHERN IRELAND DOES QUALIFY and is listed among the qualifying areas.

* Includes components and dependent areas overseas.

** Macau-born selected registrants must receive their visas by

December 20, 1999 in order to qualify for DV-2000.

(4) AFRICA: ZIP CODE: 00213 (includes all countries on the African

continent and adjacent islands):

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 & PRINCIPE

SENEGAL

SEYCHELLES

SIERRA LEONE

SOMALIA

SOUTH AFRICA

SUDAN

SWAZILAND

TANZANIA

TOGO

TUNISIA

UGANDA

ZAMBIA

ZIMBABWE

(5) OCEANIA: ZIP CODE: 00214 (includes Australia, New Zealand,

Papua New Guinea and all countries and islands of the South Pacific):

AUSTRALIA*

FIJI

KIRIBATI

MARSHALL ISLANDS

MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF

NAURU

NEW ZEALAND*

PALAU

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

SOLOMON ISLANDS

TONGA

TUVALU

VANUATU

WESTERN SAMOA

* Includes components and dependent areas overseas.

(6) NORTH AMERICA: ZIP CODE: 00215 (includes the Bahamas):

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BAHAMAS, THE

(In North America, CANADA DOES NOT QUALIFY for this year's Diversity

Program.)

Applicants must meet ALL eligibility requirements under the U.S.

law in order to be issued visas. Processing of applications and

issuance of diversity visas to successful applicants and their eligible

family members MUST occur by September 30, 2000. Family members may not

obtain diversity visas to follow to join the applicant in the U.S.

after this date.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: There is NO initial fee, other than postage

required to enter the DV-2000 program. The use of an outside

intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV-2000 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. Every application received during

the mail-in period will have an equal random chance of being selected

within its region. However, more than one application per person will

disqualify the person from registration.

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 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday or 1-202-835-0159; 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 1999 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 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 50,000 visas have been issued or on September 30,

1999, whichever is sooner, the DV Program for Fiscal Year 2000 will

end.

Obtaining Instructions on Entering the DV Lottery

The above information on entering the DV-2000 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: July 29, 1998.

Mary A. Ryan,

Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs.

[FR Doc. 98-20637 Filed 7-31-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710-06-P