[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 21, 2002)] [Notices] [Pages 54251-54256] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 02-21411] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 [[Page 54252]] 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. BILLING CODE 4710-06-P [[Page 54253]] [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN21AU02.015 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: [[Page 54254]] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Africa............................................ (Includes all countries on DV Program, Kentucky Consular the African continent and Center, 1001 Visa Crest, adjacent islands):. Migrate, KY 41901-1000, USA. Asia.............................................. (Extends from Israel to the DV Program Kentucky Consular Northern Pacific Islands, Center, 2002 Visa Crest, and includes Indonesia):. Migrate, KY 41902-2000, USA. Europe............................................ (Extends from Greenland to DV Program Kentucky Consular Russia, and includes all Center, 3003 Visa Crest, countries of the former Migrate, KY 41903-3000, USA. USSR). South America/Central America/Caribbean........... (Extends from Central America DV Program Kentucky Consular (Guatemala) and the Center, 4004 Visa Crest, Caribbean nations to Chile.). Migrate, KY 41904-4000, USA. Oceania........................................... (Includes Australia, New DV Program Kentucky Consular Zealand, Papua New Guinea Center, 5005 Visa Crest, and all countries and Migrate, KY 41905-5000, USA. islands of the South Pacific). North America..................................... (Includes the Bahamas)....... DV Program Kentucky Consular Center, 6006 Visa Crest, Migrate, KY 41906-6000, USA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN21AU02.016 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 [[Page 54255]] 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 [[Page 54256]] 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] BILLING CODE 4710-06-P