Fall is Diversity Visa Lottery Registration time!

It is that time of the year again when individuals from most countries of the world can apply to be selected in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Program (“DV Lottery”). 

Entries for the FY-2011 DV Lottery must be submitted electronically, at www.dvlottery.state.gov, between noon on Friday, October 2, 2009 and noon on Monday, November 30, 2009 Eastern Standard Time.  Qualified applicants are strongly encouraged to register as early as possible.  Heavy demand may result in system delays in the final days of the registration period.

The DV Lottery is administered annually by the Department of State, and provides for a maximum of 55,000 permanent resident visas (“green cards”) each year to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S.  The visas 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.

Natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply:  Brazil, Canada, China (Mainland-Born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its Dependent Territories and Vietnam.  Natives of Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.

Applicants will be selected at random by computer from among all qualified entries.  Those selected will be notified by regular mail (note: not by email) between May and July 2010 and will be provided further instructions at that time.  Individuals NOT selected will NOT receive any notification.

Complete instructions may be found at www.dvlottery.state.gov.

If you require additional information, please contact the Immigration Practice Group at Proskauer Rose LLP.