Mark Carmel, U.S. Lawyer
Please read the following to gain an understanding of the lottery's principles. Then, complete the U.S. State Department's Official
The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant
Visa Program is administered on an annual basis
by the Department of State and conducted under
the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (INA). Section 131 of the
Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649)
amended INA 203 to provide for a new class of
immigrants known as "diversity immigrants" (DV
immigrants). The Act makes available 50,000
permanent resident visas annually to persons
from countries with low rates of immigration to
the United States.
The annual DV program makes 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.
We are now accepting applications from natives of all countries worldwide except the following:
CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC,ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GAUTEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PERU, PHILIPPINES,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.
PAPER ENTRIES ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTED. APPLICANT'S SIGNATURE IS NOT REQUIRED ON OUR ON-LINE ENTRY FORMS. DIGITAL PHOTOGRAHIC FILES ARE NOW ACCEPTED.
50,000 USA Green Card Visas will be issued to winners chosen at random by computer.
New State Department Regulations Require Separate digital or scanned Photographs of Applicant, Applicant's Spouse, and each of Applicant's Children under 21. Our law office can scan photographs provided by clients who are unable to provide digital photgraphic files by e-mail.
Lottery clients also receive, a Free U.S.A. Immigration Consultation with Mark Carmel, Attorney at Law.
Since 1988, we have assisted THOUSANDS of Green Card Lottery Winners with the subsequent Green Card Application process.
Applicant must be a native of one of the
qualifying countries.
Native of a country whose natives qualify:
In most cases this means the country in which the applicant was born. However, there are two other ways a person may be able to qualify. First, if a person was born in a country whose natives are ineligible but his/her spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible, such person can claim the spouse's country of birth provided both the applicant and spouse are issued visas and enter the U.S. simultaneously. Second, if a person was born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but neither of his/her parents was born there or resided there at the time of his/her birth, such person may claim nativity in one of the parents' country of birth if it is a country whose natives qualify for the DV-2009 program.Applicant must meet either the education or training requirement of the DV program.
Education or Training:
An applicant must have EITHER a high school education or its equivalent, defined 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. The U.S. Department of Labor's O*Net OnLine database will be used to determine qualifying work experience. If the applicant cannot meet these requirements, he or she should NOT submit an entry to the DV program.Photographs:
Recent photographs of the applicant and his/her spouse and each child under 21 years of age, including all natural children as well as all legally-adopted and stepchildren (except a child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident), even if a child no longer resides with the applicant or is not intended to immigrate under the DV program, must be submitted electronically with the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. Group or family photos will not be accepted; there must be a separate photo for each family member.A digital photo (image) of each applicant,
his/her spouse, and children must be submitted
on-line with the EDV Entry Form. The image file
can be produced either by taking a new digital
photograph or by scanning a photographic print
with a digital scanner.
Instructions for Submitting a Digital Photo
(Image)
The image file must adhere to the following
compositional specifications and technical
specifications and can be produced in one of the
following ways:
Taking a new digital image.
Using a digital scanner to scan a submitted
photograph.
Compositional Specifications: The submitted
digital image must conform to the following
compositional specifications or the entry will
be disqualified.
Head Position
Person being photographed must directly face the
camera.
Head of the person should not be tilted up,
down, or to the side.
Head of the person should cover about 50% of the
area of the photo.
Background
Person being photographed should be in front of
a neutral, light-colored background.
Dark or patterned backgrounds are not
acceptable.
Focus
Photo must be in focus.
Decorative Items
Photos in which the person being photographed is
wearing sunglasses or other items that detract
from the face will not be accepted.
Head Coverings and Hats
Photos of applicants wearing head coverings or
hats are only acceptable due to religious
beliefs, and even then, may not obscure any
portion of the face of the applicant.
Photos of applicants with tribal or other
headgear not specifically religious in nature
will not be accepted.
Photos of military, airline, or other personnel
wearing hats will not be accepted.
Technical Specifications: The submitted digital
photograph must conform to the following
specifications or the system will automatically
reject the EDV Entry Form and notify the sender.
Taking a New Digital Image. If a new digital
image is taken, it must meet the following
specifications:
Image File Format:
The image must be in the Joint Photographic
Experts Group (JPEG) format.
Image File Size:
The maximum image file size will be sixty-two
thousand five hundred (62,500) bytes.
Image Resolution:
320 pixels high by 240 pixels wide.
Image Color Depth:
24-bit color or 8-bit color or 8-bit grayscale.
[Note: Monochrome images (2-bit color depth)
will not be accepted.]
Scanning a Submitted Photograph. Before a
photographic print is scanned, it must meet the
following specifications:
Print Size:
2 inches by 2 inches (50mm x 50mm) square.
Print Color:
The image must be either in color or grayscale.
The photographic print must also meet the
Compositional Specifications. If the
photographic print meets the Print Size, Print
Color, and Compositional Specifications, scan
the print using the following scanner
specifications.
Scanner Resolution:
Scanned at a resolution of 150 dots per inch
(dpi).
Image File Format:
The image must be in the Joint Photographic
Experts Group (JPEG) format.
Image File Size:
The maximum image file size will be sixty-two
thousand five hundred (62,500) bytes.
Image Resolution:
300 by 300 pixels.
Image Color Depth:
24-bit color or 8-bit color or 8-bit grayscale.
[Note: Monochrome images (2-bit color depth)
will not be accepted.]
THE ENTRY
There is only one way to enter the DV-2009
lottery. Applicants must submit an Electronic
Diversity Visa Entry Form (EDV Entry Form).
The entry form is available at: www.visalottery.com/mailLawyer2009.html
Failure to complete the
form in its entirety will disqualify the
applicant's entry. Applicants will be asked to
submit the following information on the EDV
Entry Form.
FULL NAME - Last/Family Name, First Name, Middle
name
DATE OF BIRTH - Day, Month, Year
GENDER - Male or Female
CITY/TOWN OF BIRTH
COUNTRY OF BIRTH - The name of the country
should be that which is currently in use for the
place where the applicant was born.
APPLICANT PHOTOGRAPH
MAILING ADDRESS - Address, City/Town,
District/Country/Province/State, Postal Code/Zip
Code, Country
PHONE NUMBER (optional)
E-MAIL ADDRESS (optional)
COUNTRY OF ELIGIBILITY IF THE APPLICANT'S NATIVE
COUNTRY IS DIFFERENT FROM COUNTRY OF BIRTH - If
the applicant is claiming nativity in a country
other than his/her place of birth, this
information must be indicated on the entry.
MARITAL STATUS - Unmarried, Married, Divorced,
Widowed, Legally Separated
NUMBER OF CHILDREN THAT ARE UNMARRIED AND UNDER
21 YEARS OF AGE – Except children that are
either U.S. legal permanent residents or
American citizens.
SPOUSE INFORMATION - Name, Date of Birth,
Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth,
Photograph
CHILDREN INFORMATION - Name, Date of Birth,
Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth,
Photograph
NOTE: Entries must include the 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 (except children who are already
U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents),
even if you are no longer legally married to the
child's parent, and even if the spouse or 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.)
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 and July 2007 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 under age 21 of successful applicants may also apply for visas to accompany or follow to join the principal applicant. DV-2009 visas will be issued between October 1, 2009 and September 30, 2010. In order to actually receive a visa, applicants selected in the random drawing must meet ALL eligibility requirements under U.S. law. No fee is charged to enter the annual DV program. The U.S. Government employs no outside consultants or private services to operate the DV program. Any intermediaries or others who offer assistance to prepare DV casework for applicants do so without the authority or consent of the U.S. Government. Use of any outside intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV entry is entirely at the applicant's discretion. A qualified entry submitted electronically directly by an applicant has an equal chance of being selected by the computer at the Kentucky Consular Center as does an entry submitted electronically through a paid intermediary who completes the entry for the applicant. Every entry received during the lottery registration period will have an equal random chance of being selected within its region. However, receipt of more than one entry per person will disqualify the person from registration, regardless of the source of the entry.
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