[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 69 (Monday, April 11, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-8752]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: April 11, 1994]


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Part XII





Department of State





_______________________________________________________________________



Bureau of Consular Affairs



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Registration for the Diversity Immigrant (DV-1) Visa Program; 
Correction Notice
DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Bureau of Consular Affairs
[Public Notice 1988]

 
Registration for the Diversity Immigrant (DV-1) Visa Program; 
Correction

    This document contains corrections to Public Notice 1974 published 
Thursday, March 31, 1994, (59 FR 15303). This public notice provided 
information on the application procedures for the 55,000 immigrant 
visas to be made available in the DV-1 category during Fiscal Year 
1995. The notice published on March 31 contained an error regarding the 
size of the envelope to be used for submitting the application for 
registration as a DV-1 immigrant. The correct envelope size should be 
between 6 inches and 10 inches (approximately 15 cm to 25 cm) in length 
and between 3\1/2\ inches and 4\1/2\ inches (approximately 9 cm to 11 
cm) in width.
    This notice is being republished in its entirety.

Information on the Application Procedures for the 55,000 Immigrant 
Visas To Be Made Available in the DV-1 Category During Fiscal Year 
1995

    Sections 201(a)(3), 201(e), 203(c) and 204(a)(1)(G) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, taken together establish, 
effective for Fiscal Year 1995 and thereafter, an annual numerical 
limitation of 55,000 for diversity immigrants. Aliens who are natives 
of countries determined by the Attorney General according to a 
mathematical formula specified by the law will be able to compete for 
immigration under this limitation. This program is identified by the 
visa symbol DV-1 and is informally known as the ``visa lottery.'' The 
law specifies that there must be a separate registration for each 
year's DV-1 visas. This information concerns the application period 
during 1994 for visas to be issued during fiscal year 1995.

Qualifying Countries and Areas Under the DV-1 Program

    The law apportions immigrant visa issuance among six geographic 
regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America--other than Mexico, 
Oceania, and South America including Mexico, Central America, and the 
Caribbean) according to a formula based on total immigrant admissions 
over the most recent five-year period. The formula identifies both high 
and low admission regions and high admission foreign states. A greater 
share of the available visa numbers go to low admission regions than to 
high admission regions. High admission states are excluded entirely 
from the program. No single country may receive more than 7 percent 
(3,850) of the world-wide total of visa numbers.
    The U.S. Attorney General determines and publishes separately the 
countries whose natives (as that term is explained in question 1) are 
entitled to apply for DV-1 visas during Fiscal Year 1995. According to 
the law, countries are grouped by region (see list at the end of this 
notice). The allotment of visa numbers for each region is shown in 
parenthesis below:

Africa: (20,200)--All countries.
Asia: (6,837)--All countries EXCEPT the following: China--mainland 
born and Taiwan born, India, Philippines, Vietnam, and South Korea. 
(Hong Kong is eligible).
Europe: (24,549)--All countries EXCEPT the following: United Kingdom 
and its dependent territories. (Northern Ireland is eligible).
North America: (8)--Canada is not eligible. The Bahamas is the ONLY 
eligible country included in the North American region.
South America: (2,589)--All countries EXCEPT Mexico, Jamaica, El 
Salvador and the Dominican Republic.
Oceania: (817)--All Countries.

How and When to Apply for DV-1 Status

    The application period for registration for the visas to be issued 
during Fiscal Year 1995 (i.e. from October 1994 through September 1995) 
will begin at 12:01 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, June 1, 1994, and 
will end at midnight on Thursday, June 30, 1994. Applications must be 
typed or clearly printed and mailed to one of the six following 
addresses, depending upon the region of the applicant's native country:

Note Carefully the Importance of Using the Correct Postal ZIP Code for 
Each Region

Asia: DV-1 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 00210, 
U.S.A.
South America: DV-1 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 
00211, U.S.A.
Europe: DV-1 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 00212, 
U.S.A.
Africa: DV-1 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 00213, 
U.S.A.
Oceania: DV-1 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 00214, 
U.S.A.
North America: DV-1 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth, NH 
00215, U.S.A.

    Typed or clearly printed in the Roman alphabet in the upper left 
hand corner of the front of the envelope must be the country or area of 
which the applicant is a native. Typed or clearly printed below the 
country must be the same name and mailing address of the applicant as 
are shown on the application form contained therein. Failure to include 
this information will disqualify the application.

    Example: Pakistan, George Q. Public, 1234 Any Street, Apt. 5, 
Center City, CA 90001.

    Only one application may be submitted by or for each applicant 
during this registration period. (Submission of more than one 
application will disqualify the person from registration.) Applications 
for registration will be grouped by region and will be selected 
strictly in a random order from among all those received during the 
application period. Every application received will have an equal 
chance of being selected.
    Applications must be sent to the addresses above by regular mail or 
air mail only, and may be mailed from within the United States or 
abroad. The information required on the envelope must be typed or 
clearly printed. Any applications submitted by hand, telegram, FAX, or 
by any means requiring any form of special handling or acknowledgement 
of receipt, such as registered mail, express mail, or certified mail 
will not be eligible for the visa lottery.
    Applications received at the post office either before or after the 
application period, or delivered to any other address will not be 
processed for registration. Only one application may be included in 
each envelope.

Size of Envelope

    The envelope in which each application is mailed must be BETWEEN 6 
inches and 10 inches (15 cm to 25 cm) IN LENGTH, and BETWEEN 3\1/2\ 
inches and 4\1/2\ inches (9 cm to 11 cm) IN WIDTH. This is necessary to 
assist the automated processing of the mail.

Information Which Must Be Included With Application for 
Registration

    There is no application fee or special application form. The 
request for registration in the lottery must furnish the following 
information on a plain sheet of paper. All answers must be typed or 
clearly printed in the Roman alphabet.
    Each application must be in the following format:

1. Applicant's Full Name

Last Name, First Name and Middle Name
(Underline Last Name/Surname/Family Name)
Example: Public, George Quincy

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

3. Name, Date and Place of Birth of Applicant's Spouse and Children, if 
any

    The spouse and child(ren) of an applicant who is registered for DV-
1 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.

4. Applicant's Mailing Address

    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.

5. Applicant's Native Country if Different From Country of Birth

    See the answer to Question 1 in this notice regarding the meaning 
of ``native'' for the purposes of the DV-1 program.

Frequently Asked Questions About DV-1 Registration

1. How Is the Term ``Native'' Defined? Are There Any Bases Upon Which 
Persons Who Have Not Been Born in a Qualifying Country May Qualify for 
Registration?

    Native means both someone born within one of the qualifying 
countries and someone entitled to be ``charged'' to such country under 
the provisions of section 202(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act. Applicants for DV-1 registration may be charged to the country of 
birth of a spouse; a minor dependent child can be charged to the 
country of birth of a parent; and an applicant born in a country of 
which neither parent was a native or a resident at the time of his/her 
birth may be charged to the country of birth of either parent. An 
applicant who claims the benefit of alternate chargeability must 
include a statement to that effect on the application for registration, 
and must show the country of chargeability on the upper left hand 
corner of the envelope in which the registration request is mailed.

2. May Persons Who Are in the U.S. Apply for Registration?

    Yes, an applicant may be in the U.S. or in another country, and the 
application may be mailed in the U.S. or abroad.

3. Is Each Applicant Limited to Only One Application During This DV-1 
Registration Period?

    Yes, the law allows only one application by or for each person; 
submission of more than one application will disqualify the person from 
registration.

    Note: More than 400,000 applications were DISQUALIFIED during 
the 1993 and 1994 visa lotteries due to multiple applications. 
Applicants may be disqualified at time of registration or at the 
time of the visa interview if more than one entry is detected.

4. May a Husband and a Wife Each Submit a Separate Application?

    Yes, if otherwise qualified, a husband and a wife may each submit 
one application for registration; if either is registered, the other 
would be entitled to derivative status.

5. Must Each Applicant Submit His/Her Own Request, or May Someone Act 
on Behalf of an Applicant?

    Applicants may prepare and submit their own request for 
registration, or have someone act on their behalf. Regardless of 
whether an application is submitted by the applicant directly, or is 
assisted by an attorney, friend, relative, etc., only one application 
may be submitted in the name of each person. Only one notification 
letter will be sent for each case registered, to the address provided 
on the application.

6. What Are the Requirements for Education or Work Experience?

    The law and regulations require that every applicant must have at 
least a high school education or its equivalent or, within the past 
five years, have two years of work experience in an occupation 
requiring at least two years training or experience. A ``high school 
education or equivalent'' is defined as successful completion of a 
twelve-year course of elementary and secondary education comparable to 
that of a high school degree in the United States. Qualifying work 
experience shall be based upon the most recent edition of the 
Dictionary of Occupational Titles published by the Employment and 
Training Administration of the United States Department of Labor.
    Documentary proof of education or work experience should NOT be 
submitted with the application, but must be presented to the consular 
officer at the time of formal immigrant visa application.

7. How Will Cases Be Registered?

    At the National Visa Center all mail received will be separated 
into one of six geographic regions and individually numbered. After the 
end of the application period, a computer will randomly select cases 
from among all the mail received for each geographic region. Within 
each region, the first letter randomly selected will be the first case 
registered, the second letter selected the second registration, etc. It 
makes no difference whether an application is received early or late in 
the application period; all applications received within the mail-in 
period will have an equal chance of being selected within each region. 
When a case has been registered, the applicant will immediately be sent 
a notification letter, which will provide appropriate visa application 
instructions. The National Visa Center will continue to process the 
case until those who are registered are instructed to make formal 
application at a U.S. consular office or at an INS office in the United 
States in the case of those who are entitled to apply for change of 
status. The National Visa Center will provide additional instructions 
on what steps to take to pursue their applications for DV-1 visas.

8. May Applicants Adjust Their Status With the INS?

    Yes, provided you are otherwise eligible to adjust status, if you 
are physically present in the United States you may apply to the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for adjustment. Applicants 
who adjust, however, must first mail completed forms OF-230, Part I, 
and DSP-122 to the National Visa Center. Applicants should ensure that 
INS can complete action on their cases before September 30, 1995, since 
on that date registrations in the Fiscal Year 1995 DV-1 program 
terminate.

9. Will Applicants Who Are Not Registered Be Informed?

    No, applicants who are not registered will receive no response to 
their registration request. Only those who are registered will be 
informed. All notification letters are expected to be sent within about 
three months of the end of the application period. Anyone who does NOT 
receive a letter will know that his/her application has not been 
registered.

10. How Many Applicants Will Be Registered?

    A total of about 90,000 persons, both principal applicants and 
their spouses and children, will be registered. Since it is likely that 
some of the first 55,000 persons who are registered will not pursue 
their cases to visa issuance, this larger figure should ensure use of 
all DV-1 numbers, but it also risks some registrants' being left out. 
All applicants who are registered will be informed promptly of their 
place on the list. Each month visas will be issued, according to 
registration lottery rank order, to those applicants who are ready for 
visa issuance during that month. Once all of the fiscal year 1995 visas 
have been issued, the program for the year will end. Registered 
applicants who wish to receive visas must be prepared to ACT PROMPTLY 
on their cases.

11. Is There a Minimum Age for Applicants for Registration Under the 
DV-1 Program?

    There is NO minimum age for submission of an application for 
registration, but the requirement of a high school education or work 
experience for each principal applicant at the time of visa issuance 
will effectively disqualify most persons who are under age 18.

12. Will There Be Any Special Fee For Registration in the DV-1 
Category?

    There is no fee for submitting a request for registration, and no 
fee should be included with the letter sent to the post office box 
indicated above. Furthermore, there is no fee for applicants who come 
to be registered through the lottery.

13. Are DV-1 Applicants Specially Entitled To Apply for a Waiver of Any 
of the Grounds of Visa Ineligibility?

    No. Applicants are subject to all grounds of ineligibility 
specified in the Immigration and Nationality Act and there is no 
special provision for the waiver of any grounds of visa ineligibility 
other than those provided for in the Act.

14. May Applicants Who Are Already Registered for an Immigrant Visa in 
Another Category Apply in This Registration for the DV-1 Category?

    Yes, such persons may seek DV-1 status through this registration as 
well.

15. How Long Do Applicants Who Are Registered on the Basis of This 
Application Period Remain Entitled To Apply for Visas in the DV-1 
Category?

    Under the law, persons registered following this DV-1 application 
period are entitled to apply for visa issuance only during fiscal year 
1995, i.e., from October 1994 through September 1995. There is no 
carry-over of benefit into another year for persons who are registered 
but who do not obtain visas during FY-1995.
    There is absolutely no advantage to mailing early, or mailing from 
any particular locale. Every application received during the mail-in 
period will have an equal chance of being selected at random within its 
region. However more than one application per person will disqualify 
the person from registration. Also, failure to include the applicant's 
native country and full name and address on the envelope will 
disqualify the application.
    Countries of the world divided into the six regions defined in 
section 203(c)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990

(1) Africa

Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
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 and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zaire
Zambia
Zimbabwe

(2) Asia

Afghanistan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Burma
Cambodia
China-mainland
China-Taiwan (a ``state'' within the meaning of the Act)
Hong Kong (a ``state'' within the meaning of the Act)
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kuwait
Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Syria
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Vietnam
Yemen

(3) Europe

Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro (a ``state'' for purposes of the Act; Serbia and 
Montenegro have proclaimed the formation of a joint independent 
state, but this entity has not been formally recognized as a state 
by the United States.)
Netherlands
Northern Ireland (a ``state'' within the meaning of the Act)
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Serbia (a ``state'' for purposes of the Act; Serbia and Montenegro 
have proclaimed the formation of a joint independent state, but this 
entity has not been formally recognized as a state by the United 
States.)
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Uzbekistan
Vatican City (an independent city under the jurisdiction of the Holy 
See)

(4) North America

Bahamas, The
Canada
United States

(5) Oceania

Australia
Fiji
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia, Federated States of
Nauru
New Zealand
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Western Samoa

(6) South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay
Venezuela

    As indicated above, the regulations pertaining to this Notice are 
being published in this issue of the Federal Register, and contain 
detailed information regarding the DV-1 program.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\Note: The regulations were published in the Federal Register 
of March 31, 1994 at 59 FR 15298.

    Dated: April 7, 1994.
David L. Hobbs,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Consular Affairs.
[FR Doc. 94-8752 Filed 4-8-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-06-M