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DIVERSITY
VISA LOTTERY PROGRAM (DV2009)
DV2009
Registration is now open.
Each
year, the U.S. Department of
State conducts a congressionally-mandated
lottery to make over 50,000
"diversity visas"
available to nationals of countries
with relatively low U.S. immigration
rates. The Diversity Visa lottery
program makes permanent residence
visas ("green cards")
available to persons meeting
simple but strict standards
of eligibility. A computer-generated
random lottery drawing chooses
applicants who will be eligible
to apply for Diversity Visas.
The visas are then distributed
among six geographic regions,
with a greater number of visas
going to regions with lower
rates of immigration to the
United States, and with no visas
going to citizens of countries
sending more than 50,000 immigrants
to the U.S. in the past five
years. Within each region, no
single country may receive more
than 7% of the available Diversity
Visas in any one year. Back
to top.
The
Department of State (DOS) implemented
the electronic registration
system beginning with DV2005
in order to make the Diversity
Visa process more efficient
and secure. The Department utilizes
special technology and other
means to identify those who
commit fraud for the purposes
of illegal immigration or who
submit multiple entries.
Ineligible
countries for DV2009
include: Brazil, Canada,
China (mainland-born),
Colombia, Dominican Republic,
El Salvador, Haiti, India,
Jamaica, Mexico,
Pakistan, Philippines,
Peru, Poland, Russia, South
Korea, United Kingdom
(except Northern Ireland)
and its dependent territories,
and Vietnam. Persons born in
Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and
Taiwan are eligible.
Kirberger
PC is now accepting
applications for DV2009, the
current visa lottery program.
Registration
for the green card lottery is
free. However, attorney
assistance ensures that applications
are complete and accurate.
A significant number of winning
applications are disqualified
each year because they were
incomplete or failed to follow
instructions adequately, or
because the State Department
failed to reach them at the
address indicated on their entry
forms.
Up
to and on October 20, 2007,
our fee for assistance with
individual principal DV2009
registration is $75.
Between October 20, 2007,
and prior t to November 16,
2007, our fee will increase
to $100. On November
16, 2007, our fee will increase
to $135 (fees are only
for individual, principal applicants;
dependents require additional
fees; see DV2008
payment form).
We
accept major credit cards (Visa,
Master Card, American Express
or Discover) for this service.
See below for more information
on our DV service. Back to top.
HOW
DO I REGISTER WITH KIRBERGER'S
DV SERVICE?
Go
to our DV registration
page and determine whether you
are eligible for this year's
lottery. If you are eligible,
go to our DV2009
payment form,
print and fill it out, then
fax it to us at 1-718-222-3198.
We will then provide further
instruction on the information
and photographs we need from
you to file your lottery application.
**PLEASE
DO NOT CONTACT OUR OFFICE BY
TELEPHONE WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT
THE LOTTERY OR REGISTRATION.**
Due to the volume of DV
applications, we regret that
we cannot accept such inquiries
via telephone. We will
post all information we have
on the lottery on our web site
(see our DV
FAQ).
For
a summary of the Department
of State's DV Instructions,
please click here.
Back to top.
WHEN
SHOULD I REGISTER?
The
registration period for DV2009
is from 12:00pm (noon) Eastern
Daylight Time (EDT), Wednesday,
October 3, 2007, to 12:00pm
(noon) Eastern Standard Time
(EST), Sunday, December 2, 2007.
If
you use our service, our office
should receive your COMPLETE
information by 5:00pm EST,
Friday, November 23, 2007,
to ensure that your application
meets the deadline for DV submission.
Please note that the Department
of State system has been known
to experience overload during
the last days of the lottery
period. Although we will exercise
due diligence to ensure your
application is submitted by
the deadline, due to technical
issues with the Department of
State web site that are beyond
our control, we cannot guarantee
receipt of your application
by that system if submitted
during the last week of the
submission period. Back to top.
WHO
IS ELIGIBLE?
Nativity:
To qualify for DV2009, an applicant
must be a native of an eligible
country (see below).
Nativity in most cases is determined
by the applicant's place of
birth. However, there are two
other ways in which one may
qualify. First, if an applicant
was born in a country whose
natives are ineligible, but
his/her spouse was born in a
country whose natives are eligible,
that person can claim the spouse's
country of birth rather than
his/her own provided that both
applicant and spouse are on
the selected entry, both are
issued visas, and both enter
the U.S. at the same time. Second,
if a person was born in a country
whose natives are ineligible,
but neither of his/her parents
was born in that ineligible
country or resided there at
the time of the applicant's
birth, that applicant may claim
nativity in one of the parents'
countries of birth if that is
a country whose natives qualify
for the DV program in the year
of application.
Nationals
from all countries EXCEPT
the following qualify for the
DV2009 lottery: Brazil,
Canada, China (mainland born;
persons born in Hong Kong SAR,
Macau SAR and Taiwan are
eligible), Colombia, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Guatelmala, Haiti, India, Jamaica,
Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines,
Poland, Russia, South Korea,
United Kingdom and all its dependent
territories (except Northern
Ireland) and Vietnam.
Back to top.
Education
or Training: Applicants
must have either a high school
education or its equivalent,
or have two years of work experience
within the five years immediately
preceeding registration in an
occupation that requires at
least two years of training
or experience. U.S. Department
of Labor definitions will apply.
The U.S. Department of Labor's
O*Net OnLine database will be
used to determine qualifying
work experience. See
http://online.onetcenter.org,
and Department of Labor list
of qualifying occupations at
http://travel.state.gov.
Note
that to qualify for the DV lottery
on the basis of work experience,
you must within the last five
years have two years of experience
in an occupation designated
as Job Zone 4 or 5, classified
in a specific Specific Vocational
Prepration range (SVP) of 7.0
or higher. Back to top.
If
a prospective applicant does
not meet these requirements,
s/he SHOULD NOT submit an entry
to the DV program.
CHANGES
TO THE DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY
PROGRAM
- Two additional countries,
Brazil and Peru, are ineligible
for DV2009.
- The
U.S. State Department has
implemented an electronic
system to make the DV process
more efficient and secure.
The Department will use special
technology and other means
to identify applicants who
commit fraud for the purposes
of illegal immigration or
who submit multiple entries.
- All
DV2009 entries must be
submitted electronically
at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov
between Wednesday, October
3, 2007, and Sunday, December
2, 2007. No paper entries
will be accepted.
- The
signature requirement on the
DV entry has been eliminated.
Back
to top.
NOTE:
Please do not inquire with us
about obtaining a "list"
of lottery winners. There is
no such list. If you are a winner,
the Department of State will
notify you or your representative
that you have won. If you have
not been notified, then you
have not won the DV lottery.
Also, if you did not retain
Kirberger to represent you,
then we are not your representative.
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