October 3, 2006

Dear Clients and Friends,

Department of State Announces DV 2008 Visa Lottery

The Department of State recently announced plans for the next Visa Lottery.

The Visa Lottery enables 55,000 individuals from most countries of the world an opportunity to obtain a green card provided they meet certain minimal qualifications.  In addition, they must not be “excludable” from the U.S. as a result of such factors as criminal record, immigration violations, etc.

Applicants are chosen by a computer-generated random drawing after submitting a simple application and photograph via an online system established by the State Department at www.dvlottery.state.gov.  This site is not available until the registration period begins.

For DV-2008, 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:

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.

Note that this year BRAZIL and PERU have been added to the list of ineligible countries.

A "native" is a person born in a country, or entitled to be "charged to" the country under the rules of "alternate chargeability."  Under the rules of alternate chargeability, an alien applicant born in an ineligible country may "use"

• the country of birth of his or her spouse, if the alien applicant is married to a native of an eligible country; or

• the country of birth of either parent, if the alien applicant was born in a country in which neither of his or her parents had established a residence at the time of the applicant's birth.

The spouse or children (a "child" is an unmarried person under 21 years of age) of a successful Applicant will also be eligible for immigrant status, regardless of their place of birth.

If selected, Applicants will be instructed to apply for an immigrant visa at the U.S. Consulate in their country of residence.  However, Applicants who are in the U.S. will, in many cases, be eligible to adjust their status through a local Immigration office.

A successful Applicant must prove that he or she has at least a high school education or its equivalent, or two years of work experience during the past five years in a job which, according to the Department of Labor's O*Net OnLine database, requires at least two years of training or experience.  An Applicant must also establish that she/he meets the usual qualitative requirements for entry to the U.S.  For example, an Applicant with a criminal record may be barred. 

Entries for the DV-2008 Diversity Visa Lottery must be submitted electronically after noon EDT on Wednesday, October 4, 2006 and before noon on Sunday, December 3, 2006.  Applicants may access the electronic diversity visa entry form at 'www.dvlottery.state.gov' during the registration period.  Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in delays. No entries will be accepted after noon on December 3, 2006.

Detailed information is available on the Department of State website at: www.travel.state.gov or http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/72835.htm

We believe that anyone with access to the internet can complete the entry process without hiring an attorney.  We also believe that it may be justifiable for some individuals who are not computer savvy to pay a small fee to have someone assist them with the process.  Anyone selected in the lottery, however, should consider consulting with an attorney before taking any further action.

Please feel free to contact our office if you have any questions.