V-2003. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE 2003 DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE 2003 DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM
(DV-2003)

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 countries¹ 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.

¹ The term "country" in this notice includes countries, economies and other jurisdictions explicitly listed in the List of Qualifying Countries by Region.

ENTRIES FOR THE DV-2003 DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY MUST BE RECEIVED AT ONE OF THE KENTUCKY CONSULAR CENTER MAILING ADDRESSES LISTED UNDER MAILING THE ENTRY BETWEEN NOON ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2001 AND NOON ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2001. Entries received before or after these dates will be disqualified regardless of when they are postmarked. Also, entries mailed to any address other than the Kentucky Consular Center addresses under MAILING THE ENTRY will be disqualified.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY

Education or Training: An applicant must have EITHER a high school education or its equivalent, defined in the U.S. as successful completion of a…

If the applicant cannot meet these requirements, he or she should NOT submit an entry to the DV program.

PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING AN ENTRY TO DV-2003

  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…

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.) If an applicant is claiming nativity through spouse or parent, please indicate this on the entry. (See the REQUIREMENTS section on for more information on this item.)

 

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.

 

FULL MAILING ADDRESS

This must be clear and complete, because any future mailings will be sent there. A telephone number is optional, but useful.

 

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 the PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING AN ENTRY TO DV-2003 section 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 PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING AN ENTRY TO DV-2003 for more information on the signature requirement.

 

MAILING THE ENTRY

Submit the entry by regular or airmail to the address matching the region of the applicant’s country of nativity. Entries sent by express or… The envelope must be between 6 and 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) long and 3 1/2 and… The regions are divided as follows: Africa includes all countries on the African continent and adjacent islands;…

TO SEE A SAMPLE ENVELOPE, PLEASE ACCESS OUR AUTOMATED FAX SERVICE. CALL 202-647-3000 FROM YOUR FAX MACHINE. REQUEST DOCUMENT NUMBER 1550.

SELECTION OF APPLICANTS

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.

Important Notice

A qualified entry received directly from an applicant has an equal chance of being selected by the computer at the Kentucky Consular Center as does…  

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT DV-2003 REGISTRATION

 

WHAT DOES THE TERM "NATIVE" MEAN? ARE THERE ANY SITUATIONS IN WHICH PERSONS WHO WERE NOT BORN IN A QUALIFYING COUNTRY MAY APPLY?

"Native" also means someone entitled to be "charged" to a particular country under the provisions of Section 202(b) of the…  

ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR NEW REQUIREMENTS IN THE APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR THIS DIVERSITY VISA REGISTRATION?

ARE SIGNATURES AND PHOTOGRAPHS REQUIRED FOR EACH FAMILY MEMBER, OR ONLY FOR THE PRINCIPAL APPLICANT?

Only the principal applicant is required to personally sign the entry. Recent and individual photos of the applicant, his/her spouse and all children are required. Family or group photos are not accepted. Check the information on the signature and photo requirements.

 

WHY DO CERTAIN COUNTRIES NOT QUALIFY FOR THE DIVERSITY PROGRAM?

WHAT IS THE NUMERICAL LIMIT FOR DV-2003?

WHAT ARE THE REGIONAL DIVERSITY VISA (DV) LIMITS FOR DV-2003?

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) determines the DV regional limits for each year according to a formula specified in Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Once the INS has completed the calculations, the DV-2003 regional visa limits will be announced.

 

WHEN ARE ENTRIES FOR THE DV PROGRAM ACCEPTED EACH YEAR?

 

MAY PERSONS WHO ARE IN THE U.S.APPLY FOR THE PROGRAM?

Yes, an applicant may be in the U.S. or in another country, and the entry may be mailed from the U.S. or from abroad.

 

IS EACH APPLICANT LIMITED TO ONLY ONE ENTRY DURING THIS DV-2003 REGISTRATION PERIOD?

Yes, the law allows only one entry by or for each person during each registration period; applicants for whom more than one entry is submitted will be disqualified. Applicants may be disqualified at time of selection as a winner, or at the time of the visa interview or at any time during the process if more than one entry is detected. However, applicants may apply for the program each year during the regular one-month registration period.

 

MAY A HUSBAND AND A WIFE EACH SUBMIT A SEPARATE ENTRY?

Yes, a husband and a wife may each submit one entry. If either is selected, the other would be entitled to derivative status. Note: Husbands and wives may not sign for each other. Each applicant must sign his or her own entry.

 

WHAT FAMILY MEMBERS MUST I INCLUDE ON MY ENTRY FOR DV-2003?

The fact that you have listed family members on your entry does not mean that they later must travel with you. They may choose to remain behind.…  

MUST EACH APPLICANT SUBMIT HIS/HER OWN ENTRY, OR MAY SOMEONE ACT ON BEHALF OF AN APPLICANT?

 

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION OR WORK EXPERIENCE?

 

HOW WILL WINNERS BE SELECTED?

 

MAY WINNING APPLICANTS ADJUST THEIR STATUS WITH THE INS?

WILL APPLICANTS WHO ARE NOT ELECTED BE INFORMED?

No, applicants who are not selected will receive no response to their entry. Only those who are selected will be informed. All notification letters are sent within about nine months of the end of the application period to the address indicated on the entry. Anyone who does NOT receive a letter will know that his/her application has not been selected.

 

HOW MANY APPLICANTS WILL BE SELECTED?

IS THERE A MINIMUM AGE FOR APPLICANTS TO APPLY FOR THE DV-2003 PROGRAM?

There is no minimum age to apply for the program, but the requirement of a high school education or work experience for each principal applicant at the time of application will effectively disqualify most persons who are under age 18.

WILL THERE BE ANY SPECIAL FEE FOR DV-2003 CASE PROCESSING?

 

ARE DV-2003 APPLICANTS SPECIALLY ENTITLED TO APPLY FOR A WAIVER OF ANY OF THE GROUNDS OF VISA INELIGIBILITY?

No. Applicants are subject to all grounds of ineligibility for immigrant visas specified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. There are no special provisions for the waiver of any ground of visa ineligibility other than those ordinarily provided in the Act.

 

MAY PERSONS WHO ARE ALREADY REGISTERED FOR AN IMMIGRANT VISA IN ANOTHER CATEGORY APPLY FOR THE DV-2003 PROGRAM?

Yes, such persons may apply for the DV-2003 program.

 

HOW LONG DO APPLICANTS WHO ARE SELECTED REMAIN ENTITLED TO APPLY FOR VISAS IN THE DV-2002 CATEGORY?

 

LIST OF QUALIFYING COUNTRIES BY REGION