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January 7, 2004 Green Card Lottery News Update BILL TO ABOLISH THE GREEN CARD LOTTERY PASSES U.S. HOUSE - GOES TO SENATE FOR DEBATE Washington D.C. On December 16, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping anti-immigration bill known as the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. As its title implies, the purpose of the bill ostensibly is to protect U.S. borders against infiltration by terrorists and prevent immigrants from entering the country illegally. But the legislation goes much further toward curbing both legal and illegal immigration to America. It aims to punish millions of undocumented workers who entered the U.S. long before the "War on Terrorism" began, and stem the flow of legal immigrants by eliminating the U.S. Diversity Program, better known as the "Green Card Lottery". Currently, the Green Card Lottery offers the only ray of hope for many people to immigrate to America, especially those from countries with historically low numbers of immigrants or who are either not skilled professionals or college graduates. Understandably, many who have relied on the National Visa Service for entry in this program have expressed concern that the Lottery has or will come to an end. The program has not ended and will continue until and unless the U.S. Senate passes the measure and the President signs it into law. (For those unfamiliar with America's legislative process, a law must be passed by both branches of congress, the House of Representatives AND the U.S. Senate - before it can become effective. If one passes it, and not the other, the legislation will die. Then the President must sign it. If the President does not sign it, or if he vetoes it, it will not become law.) This bill, with its provision to abolish the lottery, has thus far only passed the lower branch of congress. The Senate is scheduled to begin debating it in February. National Visa Service will be monitoring its progress on this website. For But for now, the Green Card Lottery is on. Entries for 2005 have been submitted and according to precedent more than 50,000 winners will be drawn beginning in March. National Visa Service is currently accepting new entries and re-entries for the next drawing. To be sure you are entered in time for next year's drawing, apply today! July 20, 2005 DV-2006 FINAL RESULTS 90,000 WINNERS SELECTED FOR 50,000 GREEN CARDS The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2006 diversity lottery. The diversity lottery was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and makes available *50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Approximately 90,000 applicants have been registered and notified and may now make an application for an immigrant visa. Since it is likely that some of the first *50,000 persons registered will not pursue their cases to visa issuance, this larger figure insures that all DV-2006 numbers will be used during fiscal year 2006 (October 1, 2005 until September 30, 2006). Applicants registered for the DV-2005 program were selected at random from over 6.3 million qualified entries received during the 60-day application period that ran from 12:00 AM on November 5, 2004, until midnight, January 7, 2005. The visas have been apportioned among six geographic regions with a maximum of seven percent available to persons born in any single country. During the visa interview, principal applicants must provide proof of a high school education or its equivalent, or show two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience within the past five years. Those selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly. Applicants should follow the instructions in their notification letter and must fully complete the information requested. Registrants living legally in the United States who wish to apply for adjustment of their status must contact the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services for information on the requirements and procedures. Once the total *50,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2006 will end. Selected applicants who do not receive visas by September 30, 2006 will derive no further benefit from their DV-2006 registration. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2006 principal applicants are only entitled to derivative diversity visa status until September 30, 2006. Only participants in the DV-2006 program who were selected for further processing have been notified. Those who have not received notification were not selected. They may try for the upcoming DV-2007 lottery if they wish. The dates for the registration period for the DV-2007 lottery program will be widely publicized during August 2005. * The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulated that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas be made available for use under the NACARA program. The reduction of the limit of available visas to 50,000 began with DV-2000. The following is the statistical breakdown by foreign-state chargeability of those registered for the DV-2006 program:
Natives of the following countries were not eligible to participate in DV-2006: Canada, China (mainland-born, excluding Hong Kong S.A.R., and Taiwan), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam. H1-B Cap Increased by 20,000 Visas Washington D.C., The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service is preparing to open the gate to an additional 20,000 H1B visas, which allow U.S. companies to bring in university-educated foreigners to fill jobs requiring specialized skills and knowledge. For the new program, applicants must be graduates of U.S. educational institutions with a master's degree or higher. "We're reviewing the guidelines and want to get this out as soon as we can" said immigration service spokesman Christopher Bentley. The new allotment, which Congress approved as part of the H1B Visa Reform Act of 2004, will be on top of the current annual H1B quota of 65,000 visas. The program will bring particular relief to companies in the science and engineering fields, who often cannot find enough qualified U.S. citizens and residents to meet their burgeoning demand. Many U.S. Employers would like to see the number increased to 50,000 because of their need for foreign workers. CIS will start accepting applications for the new visas after the program's rules are published in the U.S. Federal Register. Mr. Bendtly said he expected that to occur shortly. Demand for H1Bs has been high since 2003, when Congress slashed the annual quota from 195,000 to 65,000 - the programs original level dating from the 1980s. Now, the annual quota of visas is issued months before the year expires. The process has also become much more rigorous, with increased background checks instituted after Sept. 11. January 7, 2005 DV-2006 Entry Is Closed - Early Entry In DV-2007 Recommended With Double Money Back Offer. At 12:00PM EST, the U.S. State Department website officially stopped accepting entries for the DV-2006 green card lottery. Winners will be drawn between March and July. Those who win will be notified by mail (or by email, phone or fax if entered through National Visa Service). Only winners are notified. The surest way to be entered in the next drawing is to submit your application early through National Visa Service. National Visa Service will double your money back if you win DV-2006 after entering for DV-2007. If you missed the opportunity to enter DV-2006 or if you entered and want to insure your next entry or get double your money back if you win - click here. August 1, 2004 OFFICIAL U.S.A. GREEN CARD LOTTERY RESULTS FOR 2004 (DV-2005) Washington D.C. The official results of U.S.A. Green Card Lottery and winners drawn from entries submitted in 2003 have been released by the U.S. Government. The drawing took place between March and July of 2004. Applications are now being accepted for entry in the next drawing. Click here for guaranteed entry in the next Green Card Lottery DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY 2005 (DV-2005) RESULTS (Re printed from the U.S. State Department's August 2004, Visa Bulletin, Number 72, Volume VIII) The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2005 diversity lottery. The diversity lottery was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and makes available *50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Approximately 100,000 applicants have been registered and notified and may now make an application for an immigrant visa. Since it is likely that some of the first *50,000 persons registered will not pursue their cases to visa issuance, this larger figure should insure that all DV-2005 numbers will be used during fiscal year 2005 (October 1, 2004 until September 30, 2005). Applicants registered for the DV-2005 program were selected at random from over 9.5 million qualified entries received during the 60-day application period that ran from 12:00 AM on November 1, 2003, until midnight, December 30, 2003. The visas have been apportioned among six geographic regions with a maximum of seven percent available to persons born in any single country. During the visa interview, principal applicants must provide proof of a high school education or its equivalent, or show two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience within the past five years. Those selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly. Applicants should follow the instructions in their notification letter and must fully complete the information requested. Registrants living legally in the United States who wish to apply for adjustment of their status must contact the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services for information on the requirements and procedures. Once the total *50,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2005 will end. Selected applicants who do not receive visas by September 30, 2005 will derive no further benefit from their DV-2005 registration. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2005 principal applicants are only entitled to derivative diversity visa status until September 30, 2005. Only participants in the DV-2005 program who were selected for further processing have been notified. Those who have not received notification were not selected. They may try for the upcoming DV-2006 lottery if they wish. The dates for the registration period for the DV-2006 lottery program will be widely publicized during August 2004. * The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulated that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas be made available for use under the NACARA program. The reduction of the limit of available visas to 50,000 began with DV-2000. The following is the statistical breakdown by foreign-state chargeability of those registered for the DV-2005 program: AFRICA
ASIA
EUROPE
NORTH AMERICA Bahamas, The 14 OCEANIA
SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN
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