[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 164 (Monday, August 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45004-45006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-22256]


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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

[[Page 45005]]

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