PLG Immigration - Special NewsFlash
October 10, 2003

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

Nationals From The Following Countries Are Not Eligible:

• Canada
  
• China (mainland)
  
• Colombia
  
• Dominican Republic
  
• El Salvador
  
• Haiti
  
• India
  
• Jamaica
  
• Mexico
  
• Pakistan
  
• Philippines
  
• Russia
  
• South Korea
  
• The United Kingdom and dependent territories (but nationals from Northern Ireland are eligible)
  
• Vietnam
  

Because the stated purpose of the lottery program is to encourage "diversity" in U.S. immigration, natives of these countries are excluded from participation. Note that Russia has been added to the list of ineligible countries this year.

NOTIFICATION

** Being selected in this first phase of the lottery does not guarantee that an applicant will be issued an immigrant visa. As happens each year, the Department of State will select more entries than the number of immigrant visas available, to account for people who may not qualify, who decide not to apply or who gain permanent residence through other means. Therefore, you must be prepared to act immediately if you receive notification that your entry has been selected: The DV-2005 program will end when all 50,000 immigrant visas have been issued.

Note: In order to move to the second phase and actually receive a visa, you must meet all eligibility requirements under U.S. law, and processing of your permanent residence must be complete by midnight on September 20, 2005. Current security requirements and processing times may make this challenging.

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SOURCES

HOW TO APPLY

Only one entry may be sent per applicant, whether filed by the individual or by someone else on his/her behalf. Multiple or duplicate entries will disqualify individuals.

The Department of State will send DV lottery applicants an electronic confirmation notice upon receipt of a completed EDV Entry Form.

Each entry must include the following:

1. Applicant’s Full Name:
   Last Name, First Name, Middle Name
   
   Example: Wong, Heidi Gretchen

2. Applicant’s Date of Birth:
   Day, Month, Year
   
   Example: Date of Birth: 15 November 1962

3. Applicant's Gender:
   Male or Female

4. Applicant’s City or Town of Birth:
   Example: Munich

5. Applicant’s Country of Birth:
   Example: Germany
   
   Note: The name of the country should be that which is currently in use (for example, Slovenia, rather than Yugoslavia; Kazakhstan rather than Soviet Union).

6. Applicant's Photograph:
   Entries must include recent photographs of the applicant and his/her spouse, as well as each child under the age of 21, including all natural children and all legally adopted children and stepchildren, excepting only any child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident of the U.S. Entries must include photos of each child, even if the child no longer resides with the applicant or is not intended to immigrate under the DV program. You must include separate photos for each family member—group photos are not acceptable.

   Each applicant, his/her spouse and each child will need a computer file containing his/her digital photo, to be submitted on-line with the EDV Entry Form. The photo file may be produced either by taking a new digital photograph or by digitally scanning an existing photograph.

   All digital images must conform to detailed technical specifications. If the submitted digital images do not conform to these specifications, the system will automatically reject the EDV Entry Form and notify the sender.

   • The image must be in the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format.
   • The image must be either in color or in grayscale - monochromatic images (2-bit color depth) will not be accepted.
   • New digital photos must have a resolution of 320 pixels wide by 240 pixels high, and a color depth of 24-bit color, 8-bit color or 8-bit grayscale.
   • Existing photographic prints that are scanned must be 2 inches by 2 inches (50mm x 50mm) square. They must be scanned at a resolution of 150 dots per inch (dpi) and with a color depth of 24-bit color, 8-bit color or 8-bit grayscale.
   • The maximum image size accepted will be 62,500 bytes.

   If a submission is rejected because of failure to comply with these specifications, you will need to submit a new entry with conforming photos.

   Submissions must also meet the following specifications:

   • Each applicant, spouse or child must directly face the camera. His/her head must not be tilted up, down or to the side, and should cover about 50% of the area of the photo.
   • The photo must be taken with the applicant, spouse or child in front of a neutral, light-colored background. Avoid very dark or patterned, busy backgrounds.
   • The person’s face must be in focus. The person being photographed may not wear sunglasses or “other paraphernalia” that detracts from or covers the face.
   • Photos of applicants wearing head coverings or hats are only acceptable where dictated by the applicant’s religious beliefs. Such head coverings must not obscure any part of the person’s face. Tribal or other headgear not specifically dictated by religious beliefs, or military, airline or other personnel/uniform style hats are excluded.

   If photos of the applicant or any family member do not conform to these specifications, the application will be rejected. Pay careful attention to each photo included in your application. We do not anticipate that the Department of State will notify applicants of rejection for failure to conform to this second set of specifications.

7. Applicant's Mailing Address:
   Include the street address, city/town, district/country/province/state, postal code/zip code, and country.

   Example:

   33 Ridge Road, Apt. 3 Kalamazoo, MI 55555 USA

8. Applicant's Phone Number:
   This is optional.

9. Applicant's E-mail Address:
   This is optional. If someone else submits an application electronically on your behalf, electronic confirmation of filing will be sent to the e-mail account from which the application was submitted.

10. Applicant’s Native Country if Different from Country of Birth:
    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.

11. Applicant's Marriage Status:
    "Yes" (married or separated) or "No" (single or divorced).

12. Number of Applicant's Children that Are Unmarried and Under 21 Years of Age.

13. Applicant's Spouse Information:
    Name, date of birth, gender, city/town of birth, country of birth, and photograph.

    Applicants must list their spouse, even if currently separated.

14. Applicant's Children Information:
    Name, date of birth, gender, city/town of birth, country of birth, and photograph for each child.

    Applicants must include all children, including adopted children and stepchildren. Failure to disclose all children (under the age of 21 and unmarried) of the applicant and the applicant’s spouse will disqualify the entry. Only children who are already U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents may be excluded. Married children or children who are already 21 years of age will not qualify to immigrate with the applicant.

HOW AND WHERE TO SEND THE ENTRY

• BCIS Service Centers (available on our website):
  
  http://www.immigrationlaw.com/ProcessingTimes/index.html
  
  
• Department of Labor:
  
  http://www.ows.doleta.gov/foreign/times.asp

Any questions related to this broadcast may be sent to: askplg@immigrationlaw.com

Copyright © 2002 Pearl Law Group. All rights reserved.

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