[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 147 (Monday, August 2, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 41992-41995] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-19736] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 3099] Registration for the Diversity Immigrant (DV-2001) Visa Program ACTION: Notice of registration for the seventh year of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This public notice provides information on the procedures for obtaining an opportunity to apply for one of the 55,000 (maximum) immigrant visas to be made available in the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) category during Fiscal Year 2001. This notice is issued pursuant to 22 CFR 42.33(b)(2) which implements sections 201(a)(3), 201(e), 203(c) and 204(a)(1)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, (8 U.S.C. 1151, 1153, and 1154(a)(1)(G)). Entry Procedures for Immigrant Visas To Be Made Available in the DV Category During Fiscal Year 2001 ENTRIES FOR THE DV-2001 MAIL-IN PERIOD MUST BE RECEIVED BETWEEN NOON (EASTERN TIME) ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1999 AND NOON (EASTERN TIME) ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1999. Entries received before or after these dates will be disqualified regardless of when they are postmarked. Entries sent to an incorrect address will also be disqualified. How Visas Are Apportioned Visas are apportioned among six geographic regions with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and no visas going to countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the past five years. No one country can receive more than 7 percent of the diversity visas issued in any one year. For DV-2001, natives of the following are NOT ELIGIBLE to apply: CANADA CHINA (mainland and Taiwan, except Hong Kong S.A.R.) COLOMBIA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC EL SALVADOR HAITI INDIA JAMAICA MEXICO PHILIPPINES POLAND SOUTH KOREA UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories VIETNAM [[Page 41993]] Requirements To enter, an applicant must be able to claim nativity in an eligible country, AND must meet either the education or training requirement of the DV program. 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. Education or Training: To enter, an applicant MUST have EITHER a high school education or its equivalent, defined in the U.S. as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform. U.S. Department of Labor definitions will apply. If a person does not meet these requirements, he/she SHOULD NOT submit an entry to the DV program. Procedures for Submitting an Entry Form Only ONE entry form may be submitted by or for each applicant during the registration period. Submission of more than one entry will disqualify the person. The applicant must personally sign the entry, preferably in his/her native alphabet. Failure of the applicant to personally sign his/her own entry will result in disqualification. Completing the Entry Form There is no specific format for the entry. Simply use a plain sheet of paper and type or clearly print in the English alphabet (preferably in the following order): (Failure to provide ALL of this information will disqualify the applicant.) 1. FULL NAME, with the last (surname/family) name underlined EXAMPLES: Public, Sara Jane (or) Lopez, Juan Antonio 2. DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH Date: Day, Month, Year EXAMPLE: 15 November 1961 Place: City/Town, District/County/Province, Country EXAMPLE: Munich, Bavaria, Germany The name of the country should be that which is currently in use for the place where the applicant was born (Slovenia, rather than Yugoslavia; Kazakstan rather than Soviet Union, for example). 3. THE APPLICANT'S NATIVE COUNTRY IF DIFFERENT FROM COUNTRY OF BIRTH If the applicant is claiming nativity in a country other than his/ her place of birth, this must be clearly indicated on the entry. This information must match with what is put on the upper left corner of the entry envelope. (See ``MAILING THE ENTRY'' below.) If an applicant is claiming nativity through spouse or parent, please indicate this on the entry. (See ``Requirements'' section for more information on this item. 4. NAME, DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH OF THE APPLICANT'S SPOUSE AND CHILDREN (IF ANY) (Failure to provide all of this information will disqualify the applicant.) 5. FULL MAILING ADDRESS This must be clear and complete, as any communications will be sent there. A telephone number is optional, but useful. 6. PHOTOGRAPH. Attach a recent, preferably less than 6 months old, photograph of the applicant, 1.5 inches (37 mm) square in size, with the applicant's name printed on the back. The photograph (not a photocopy) should be attached to the entry with clear tape--DO NOT use staples or paperclips, which can jam the mail processing equipment. 7. SIGNATURE: Failure to personally sign the entry will disqualify the applicant. Mailing the Entry Submit the entry by regular or air mail to the address matching the region of the applicant's country of nativity. Entries sent by express or priority mail, fax, hand, messenger, or any means requiring receipts or special handling will not be processed. The envelope must between 6 and 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) long and 3\1/2\ and 4\1/2\ inches (9 to 11 cm) wide. Postcards are NOT acceptable, nor are envelopes inside express or oversized mail packets. In the upper left hand corner of the envelope the applicant must show his/her country of nativity, followed by the applicant's name and full return address. The applicant must provide both the country of nativity and the country of the address, even if both are the same. Failure to provide this information will disqualify the entry. The mailing address for all entries is the same EXCEPT for the ZIP (POSTAL) CODE. The address is: DV-2001 Program, National Visa Center, Portsmouth NH (ZIP CODE as appropriate. See below.), U.S.A. The Zip Codes are: ASIA--00210 SOUTH AMERICA/CENTRAL AMERICA/CARIBBEAN--00211 EUROPE--00212 AFRICA--00213 OCEANIA--00214 NORTH AMERICA--00215 For the DV Program, the regions are divided as follows: (1) ASIA: ZIP CODE: 00210 (extends from Israel to the northern Pacific islands, and includes Indonesia): AFGHANISTAN BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BHUTAN BRUNEI BURMA CAMBODIA HONG KONG S.A.R. INDONESIA IRAN IRAQ ISRAEL JAPAN JORDAN NORTH KOREA KUWAIT LAOS LEBANON MALAYSIA MALDIVES MONGOLIA NEPAL OMAN PAKISTAN QATAR SAUDI ARABIA SINGAPORE SRI LANKA SYRIA THAILAND UNITED ARAB EMIRATES YEMEN NB: In Asia CHINA--mainland born and Taiwan born, INDIA, PHILIPPINES, SOUTH KOREA, and VIETNAM DO NOT QUALIFY for this year's diversity program. HONG KONG S.A.R. DOES QUALIFY. Applicants born in MACAU MAY APPLY for this year's DV Program, however, they will become ineligible on December 20, 1999 when control of Macau reverts to China, unless legislation is enacted which would allow Macau's continued eligibility for the DV Program. (2) SOUTH AMERICA/CENTRAL AMERICA/CARIBBEAN: ZIP CODE: 00211 (extends from Central America (Guatemala) and the Caribbean nations to Chile.) ANTIGUA & BARBUDA ARGENTINA BARBADOS [[Page 41994]] BELIZE BOLIVIA BRAZIL CHILE COSTA RICA CUBA DOMINICA ECUADOR GRENADA GUATEMALA GUYANA HONDURAS NICARAGUA PANAMA PARAGUAY PERU ST. KITTS & NEVIS ST. LUCIA ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES SURINAME TRINIDAD & TOBAGO URUGUAY VENEZUELA NB: In South America COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EL SALVADOR, HAITI, JAMAICA, and MEXICO DO NOT QUALIFY for this year's Diversity Program. (3) EUROPE : ZIP CODE: 00212 (Extends from Greenland to Russia, and includes all countries of the former USSR). ALBANIA ANDORRA ARMENIA AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN BELARUS BELGIUM BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA BULGARIA CROATIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK * ESTONIA FINLAND FRANCE * GEORGIA GERMANY GREECE HUNGARY ICELAND IRELAND ITALY KAZAKSTAN KYRGYZSTAN LATVIA LICHTENSTEIN LITHUANIA LUXEMBOURG MACEDONIA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MALTA MOLDOVA MONACO MONTENEGRO NETHERLANDS * NORTHERN IRELAND NORWAY PORTUGAL * ROMANIA RUSSIA SAN MARINO SERBIA SLOVAKIA SLOVENIA SPAIN SWEDEN SWITZERLAND TAJIKISTAN TURKEY TURKMENISTAN UKRAINE UZBEKISTAN VATICAN CITY NB: In Europe GREAT BRITAIN and POLAND DO NOT QUALIFY for this year's diversity program. GREAT BRITAIN (UNITED KINGDOM) includes the following dependent areas: ANGUILLA, BERMUDA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, CAYMAN ISLANDS, FAULKLAND ISLANDS, GIBRALTAR, MONTSERRAT, PITCAIRN, ST. HELENA, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. Note that for purposes of the Diversity Program only, Northern Ireland is treated separately; NORTHERN IRELAND DOES QUALIFY and is listed among the qualifying areas. * Includes components and dependent areas overseas. (4) AFRICA: ZIP CODE: 00213 (includes all countries on the African continent and adjacent islands): ALGERIA ANGOLA BENIN BOTSWANA BURKINA FASO BURUNDI CAMEROON CAPE VERDE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CHAD COMOROS CONGO CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE 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 & PRINCIPE SENEGAL SEYCHELLES SIERRA LEONE SOMALIA SOUTH AFRICA SUDAN SWAZILAND TANZANIA TOGO TUNISIA UGANDA ZAMBIA ZIMBABWE (5) OCEANIA: ZIP CODE: 00214 (includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and all countries and islands of the South Pacific): AUSTRALIA * FIJI KIRIBATI MARSHALL ISLANDS MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF NAURU NEW ZEALAND * PALAU PAPUA NEW GUINEA SOLOMON ISLANDS TONGA TUVALU VANUATU WESTERN SAMOA * Includes components and dependent areas overseas. (6) NORTH AMERICA: ZIP CODE: 00215 (includes the Bahamas): BAHAMAS, THE NB: In North America, CANADA DOES NOT QUALIFY for this year's Diversity Program. Important Notice: Applicants must meet ALL eligibility requirements under the U.S. law in order to be issued visas. Processing of applications and issuance of diversity visas to successful applicants and their eligible family members MUST occur by September 30, 2001. Family members may not obtain diversity visas to follow to join the applicant in the U.S. after this date. There is NO initial fee, other than postage required to enter the DV-2001 program. The use of an outside intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV-2001 entry is entirely at the applicant's discretion. Qualified entries received directly from applicants or through intermediaries have equal chances of being selected by computer. There is no advantage to mailing [[Page 41995]] early, or mailing from any particular locale. Every application received during the mail-in period will have an equal random chance of being selected within its region. However, more than one application per person will disqualify the person from registration. 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. Notifying Winners Only successful entrants will be notified. They will be notified by mail between April and July of 2000 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 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 the diversity visas have been issued or on September 30, 2001, whichever is sooner, the DV Program for Fiscal Year 2001 will end. Obtaining Instructions on Entering the DV Lottery Interested persons may call (202) 331-7199, which describes the various means to obtain further details on entering the DV-2001 program. Applicants overseas may contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for instructions on the DV lottery. DV information is also available in the Visa Bulletin on the Internet at http:// travel.state.gov or via the Consular Affairs automated fax at (202) 647-3000 (code 1103). Calls to the automated fax service must be made from a fax machine using the receiver or voice option of the caller's fax equipment. Dated: July 27, 1999. Mary A. Ryan, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs. [FR Doc. 99-19736 Filed 7-30-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4710-06-U