KRA Immigration Law: Michigan Attorneys, Immigration, Naturalization, Visas

Diversity Immigrants (DV "Lottery" Program)

This type of green card is awarded in the Visa Lottery. The Visa lottery occurs once a year with a registration period opening up in October, the start of Fiscal Year. Winning the visa lottery does not guarantee a green card, just the chance to apply and interview for one. This section deals with both parts of the process, how to apply for the lottery and what happens if you win.

The annual DV program makes permanent residence visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-general random lottery drawing chooses selectees for diversity visas. 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 nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the period of the past five years. Within each region, no one country may receive more than 7% of the available Diversity Visas in any one year.

To Apply for the DV Lottery

Who qualifies:

The Department of State updates each year the list of countries whose natives are not eligible to apply. Exceptions to ineligibility are as follows:

1. If you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but your spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible, you can claim your spouse's country of birth (provided both you and your spouse are on the selected entry, are issued visas, and enter the U.S. simultaneously).

2. If you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but neither of your parents was born there or resided there at the time of your birth, you may claim nativity in one of your parents' country of birth if it is a country whose natives qualify for the DV-2009 program.

DV Requirements for Education or Work Experience:

The law and regulations require that every entrant must have at least a high school education or its equivalent, or within the past five years, have two years of work experience in an occupation requiring at least two years training experience. A �high school education or equivalent� is defined as successful completion of a twelve-year course of elementary and secondary education in the United States or successful completion in another country of a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to a high school education in the United States. Documentary proof of education or work experience must be presented to the consular officer at the time of the visa interview. To determine eligibility based on work experience, definitions from the Department of Labor's O*Net OnLine database will be used.

Procedures for Submitting a DV-2009 Entry:

The Department of State will only accept Entry Forms submitted electronically at: www.dvlottery.state.gov

The following information needs to be included on/with the application:

1. Full name

2. Date and place of birth

3. Country of birth, and country of nationality if different than country of birth

4. Names, dates of birth and place of birth of spouse and all natural and legally-adopted (step)children who are unmarried and under the age of 21 (even if the child no longer resides with you or you do not intend for the child to immigrate with you under the DV program)

5. Current mailing address

6. Digital Photograph of the applicant and all dependents listed in the application

If you win the lottery

Persons selected in the DV lottery must obtain the DV visa or adjust status by the end of the fiscal year in which they were selected. There is no carry-over of DV benefits into the next year for persons who are selected but who do not obtain visas before the Fiscal Year closes. DV visa availability through the very end of the fiscal year cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be exhausted prior to September 30. Once all numbers provided by law for the DV program have been used, no further issuances will be possible.

Documents you will need if you win:

1. Birth Certificate

2. All immigration documents [passport, I-94 card, IAP-66 forms, I-20, etc.]

3. Proof of sponsorship

4. Proof of high school completion or proof of employment experience

Attorney Representation

The decision to hire an attorney for the initial DV application is entirely up to the applicant. Procedures for entering the Diversity Lottery can be completed without assistance following simple instructions. No fee is charged to enter the DV program. The selection of winners is made at random and no outside service can improve an applicant's chances of being chosen or guarantee an entry will win. Any service that claims it can improve an applicant's odds would be promising something it cannot deliver.

Nevertheless, applicants may use outside assistance, if that is their choice. There are many legitimate immigration attorneys assisting applicants for reasonable fees. Unfortunately, there are other persons who are charging exorbitant rates and making unrealistic claims. Please note that the U.S. government employs no outside consultants or private mail services to operate the DV program. Any intermediaries or others who offer assistance to prepare DV applicants do so without the authority or consent of the U.S. government.

A qualified entry received directly from an applicant has an equal chance of being selected by the Department of State as does an entry received through a paid intermediary who completes the entry for the applicant. However, receipt of more than one entry per person will disqualify the person from registration, regardless of the source of that entry.

If you are selected a winner, you should consider retaining the professional services of a qualified attorney who will assist you with the preparation of documentation for Immigrant Visa issuance or Adjustment of Status in a timely manner.

If you found the information that you want and wish to contact us to set up an appointment to help you, please call. It does not matter where you are located because we handle cases from all over the United States.