U.S. Consulate General Press Releases (1998)

U.S. Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Program (DV-2000)

News Release
August 4, 1998
Tuesday

Section 203(c) of the Immigration Act of 1990 makes available 55,000 permanent (immigrant) resident visas each year by random selection through a diversity visa lottery (DV-2000). The DV-2000 registration mail-in period will be held from noon on Thursday, October 1, 1998, through noon on Saturday, October 31, 1998.

If you have a fax machine, you may obtain detailed information on the DV-2000 program by using telecom fax, a caller-chargeable fax-on-demand service provided by Hong Kong Telecom. The fax number is 900-6066-3141. Use of the fax service is billed to the caller by Hong Kong Telecom at the rate of HK$2.00 per minute.

Persons born in Hong Kong SAR are eligible to apply for the DV-2000 lottery.

How are the visas being apportioned?

The visas will be apportioned among six geographic regions. A greater number of visas will go to those regions that have lower immigration rates. There is a limit of 3,500 visas to natives of any one foreign state.

Information about the visa allotments for each region is unavailable at the present time.

Who is not eligible?

Persons born in "high admission" countries are, in most instances, 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 years in the immediate relative, family and employment preference categories. Each year, the Immigration and Naturalization Service adds the family and employment immigrant admission figures for the previous five years, to identify the countries, which must be excluded from the annual diversity lottery. Since there is a separate determination made prior to each lottery entry period, the list of countries that do not qualify is subject to change. For 2000, "high admission" countries are: China (mainland and Taiwan), India, the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Poland, United Kingdom and dependent territories, Canada, Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica, El Salvador, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.

What are the requirements?

An entrant must be a native of a qualifying country. He or she must also have either a high school education or its equivalent, or within the past five years have two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience.

There is no initial application fee or special application form to enter. The entry must be typed or clearly printed in the English alphabet on a sheet of plain paper and must include the applicant's full name; date and place of birth for both the applicant and for the spouse or any minor children who might also wish to immigrate; the applicant's mailing address and, if possible, a telephone number; the applicant's native country if it differs from the country of birth; a recent (preferably less than 6 months old) photograph (1-1/2 inches by 1-1/2 inches) of the principal applicant with the applicant's name printed across the back of the photograph. (The photograph should be taped to the application with clear tape, not attached by staples or paper clips, which can jam the mail processing equipment.) The applicant must also sign the entry using his or her normal signature, regardless of whether the entry is prepared and submitted by the applicant or someone else. (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 airmail to one of six postal addresses in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Applicants must use the correct postal zip code designated for their native region (see addresses below). Entries must be mailed in a standard letter or business-size envelope with the applicant's native country, full name, and complete mailing address typed or clearly printed in the English alphabet in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope. Postcards are not acceptable.

Only one entry for each applicant may be submitted during the registration period. Entries sent by express or priority mail, fax, hand, messenger, or any means requiring receipts or special handling will not be processed. Duplicate or multiple entries will disqualify individuals from registration for this program. 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 qualified mail 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.

Where should entries be sent?

The mailing address for all entries is the same, except for the zip code.

ASIA
DV-2000 PROGRAM
NATIONAL VISA CENTER
PORTSMOUTH, NH 00210
USA

SOUTH AMERICA/CENTRAL AMERICA/AND THE CARIBBEAN
DV-2000 PROGRAM
NATIONAL VISA CENTER
PORTSMOUTH, NH 00211
USA

EUROPE
DV-2000 PROGRAM
NATIONAL VISA CENTER
PORTSMOUTH, NH 00212
USA

AFRICA
DV-2000 PROGRAM
NATIONAL VISA CENTER
PORTSMOUTH, NH 00213
USA

OCEANIA
DV-2000 PROGRAM
NATIONAL VISA CENTER
PORTSMOUTH, NH 00214
USA

NORTH AMERICA
DV-2000 PROGRAM
NATIONAL VISA CENTER
PORTSMOUTH, NH 00215
USA

Why are you holding the registration for the DV lottery in October?

The national visa center typically receives between 6 to 7 million qualified entries during the registration mail-in period. The massive amount of entries creates an enormous amount of work in processing and selecting successful registrants. Holding the registration period in the fall ensures successful registrants are notified in a timely manner. This gives both them and our embassies and consulates overseas a full fiscal year in which to process the necessary immigrant visas.

Is it necessary to use an outside attorney or consultant?

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 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. The selection of winners is made at random and no outside service can improve an applicant's chances of being chosen or guarantee an entry will win. Any service that claims it can improve an applicant's odds would be promising something it cannot 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 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern time), Monday through Friday, or (202) 835-0159; Internet address: http://www/fraud.org. (These numbers are only to report fraud and not to obtain information about application procedures for the DV lottery.) The U.S. Department of State has no authority to investigate complaints against businesses.

How will winners be notified?

Only successful registrants will be notified by mail at the address listed on their entry. The notifications will be sent to the winners between April and July 1999, along with instructions on how to apply for an immigrant visa, including a requirement for a special DV $75 case-processing fee payable at the time of interview by only those individuals whose applications are selected and processed for DV-2000 visas. Applicants must 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 because the number of applicants selected is greater than the number of immigrant visas available. Those selected will therefore need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly. Once the total 50,000 visas have been issued, the DV program for fiscal year 2000 will end. In any event, all DV-2000 visas must, by law, be issued by September 30, 2000.

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