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DV-2003 will make permanent residence visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. Applicants for Diversity Visas are chosen by a computer-generated random lottery drawing. The visas, however, are distributed among six geographic regions with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, 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 one country may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in any one year.
For DV-2003, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because they sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the previous five years:
CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC,
EL SALVADOR, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN,
PHILIPPINES, 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.
THE ENTRY
There is no specific format for the entry. Simply use a plain sheet of paper and type or clearly print in the English (Roman) alphabet the following information. Failure to provide all of this information will disqualify the applicant's entry.
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 as born (Slovenia, rather than Yugoslavia;Kazakhstan 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 on page 1 for more information on this item.)
4. NAME, DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH OF THE APPLICANT'S SPOUSE AND ALL NATURAL CHILDREN, AS WELL AS ALL LEGALLY-ADOPTED AND STEPCHILDREN, WHO ARE UNMARRIED AND UNDER THE AGE OF 21 YEARS, EVEN IF YOU ARE NO LONGER LEGALLY MARRIED TO THE CHILD'S PARENT, AND EVEN IF THE CHILD DOES NOT CURRENTLY RESIDE WITH YOU AND/OR WILL NOT IMMIGRATE WITH YOU. Note that married children and children 21 years or older will not qualify for the Diversity Visa. Failure to list all children will result in your disqualification for the visa. (See question 11 on the list of Frequently Asked
Questions.)
5. FULL MAILING ADDRESS
This must be clear and complete, because any future mailings will be sent there. A telephone number is optional, but useful.
6. PHOTOGRAPH. Attach recent photographs of the applicant, the applicant's spouse, and all children. Print the name and date of birth of each family member on the back of each photograph. Failure to submit required photos for all family members will result in
disqualification. See Page 2 for information on photo requirements.
7. SIGNATURE. The applicant must personally sign the entry, using his/her usual and customary signature, as it would appear on his or her passport or other official or contractual obligations. Failure to personally sign
the entry will disqualify the application. See Page 2 for more information on the signature requirement.
SELECTION OF APPLICANTS
Applicants will be selected at random by computer from among all qualified entries. Those selected will be notified by mail between May through July 2002 and will be provided further instructions, including information on
fees connected with immigration to the U.S. Persons not selected will NOT receive any notification. U.S. embassies and consulates will not be able to provide a list of successful applicants. Spouses and unmarried children
of successful applicants under age 21 may also apply for visas to accompany or follow to join the principal applicant. DV-2003 visas will be issued between October 1, 2002 and September 30, 2003.
Applicants must meet ALL eligibility requirements under U.S. law in order to be issued visas.
Processing of entries and issuance of diversity visas to successful applicants and their eligible family members MUST occur by midnight on September 30, 2003. Under no circumstances can diversity visas be issued or adjustments approved after this date, nor can family members obtain
diversity visas to follow to join the applicant in the U.S. after this date.
Full credit goes to the U.S. Department of State
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