Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Program 2013
Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, Dallas
DV 2013 Program
The online registration period for the 2013 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2013) will begin on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and conclude on Saturday, November 5, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4). The Department of State, Office of Visa Services, advises the public of a notable increase in fraudulent emails and letters sent to Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. The scammers behind these fraudulent emails and letters are posing as the U.S. government agencies in an attempt to extract payment from DV applicants. Please remember that there is no charge or fee for applying for this program, but if selected such persons have to remit the visa fee. Citizens of India, Pakistan and Bangle Desh are excluded from this program, since the immigrants from these countries are oversubscribed.

Overview
The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available up to 55,000 diversity visas (DVs) annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The registration for citizens from eligible countries is made online through Department of Justice web site. There is no fee to be paid, no form to be filled out and there is no need to pay anyone for online registration.

Fraud Warning
Fraudulent websites are posing as official U.S. government sites and asking people from all countries to send them money by wire transfer to enroll in the DV visa lottery program. Some companies posing as the U.S. government have sought money in order to "complete" DV entry forms. There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. The Department of State does NOT notify successful DV applicants by letter or email also. Entrants can check the status of their entries, as explained below, by returning to the website at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov to find out if their entry was or was not selected. It is usual that during the time of registration people all over the world receive e-mails from fraudulent web sites requiring money to register for DV lottery. If your friends or relatives have received these kinds of e-mails, please advice not to respond to such e-mails. If you have received these kinds of e-mails please contact the appropriate law enforcement agencies to alert them about the fraud.

Entry Status Check
Thos who have submitted application for DV 2012 Program may check the status of their applications from July 15, 2011, through June 30, 2012. Entry Status Check will be the ONLY means of informing you if your entry DV-2012 was selected or not or in DV 2013. All entrants, including those NOT selected, may check the status of their entries through the Entry Status Check on the E-DV website www.dvlottery.state.gov. Entrants will need to use the information from their DV-2012 confirmation pages saved at the time of entry. The DV-2012 registration period was from October 5, 2010, until November 3, 2010. If you have lost your confirmation information, you will not be able to check your DV entry status. We will not be able to resend the confirmation page information to you.

Lottery Selectee Notification and Next Steps
Selectees for the DV-2011 lottery were notified by mail between May and July of 2010. For successful DV 2011 entrants, the diversity immigrant visa application process is underway, which must be completed and visas issued by September 30, 2011. If you fail to apply for visa on or before Sep. 30, 2011, your eligibility for lottery visa under DV 2011 is lost and no longer eligible to apply for the visa. The DV 2012 Program entrants need to review the information about their selection on the DOS web site, which is the ONLY means by which DV lottery winners/selectees will be notified of their selection for DV-2012. Additionally, Entry Status Check will provide successful selectees instructions on how to proceed with their application, and also notify you of the date and time of your immigrant visa appointment. The Kentucky Consular Center no longer mails notification letters and does not use email to notify DV entrants of their selection in the DV lottery. Review the DV Lottery 2012 Instructions "Selection of Applicants" section, which provides information about the DV process.
For All Successful DV Entrants, who have been selected for further processing in the Diversity Visa program, after you receive instructions, you will need to demonstrate you are eligible for a diversity immigrant visa by successfully completing the next steps. When requested to do so by the Kentucky Consular Center, you will need to complete the immigrant visa application, submit required documents and forms, pay required fees, complete a medical examination, and be interviewed by a consular officer at the U.S. embassy or consulate to demonstrate you qualify for a diversity visa. Please note that the Kentucky Consular Center will provide application information either by mail (for DV-2011 selectees) or online through the Entry Status Check on the E-DV website www.dvlottery.state.gov (for DV-2012 selectees).

Qualifying Occupations
Successful DV entrants must be eligible to receive a visa by qualifying based on education, work, and other requirements. The law and regulations require that every DV entrant must have at least:
• A high school education or its equivalent; or
• Two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years' training or experience.
To learn more about qualifying occupations, see the Diversity Visa Instructions Frequently Asked Questions and the List of Occupations webpage.


Disclaimer: Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law does not claim authorship for above referenced information. Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law or the publisher is not responsible or liable for anything stated above, since it is generalized information about the subject matters collected from various sources including Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, State Department, Federal Register, and American Immigration Lawyer’s Association (AILA) Advocacy Center, and other legal sources. For individual cases and specific questions you are advised to consult an attorney of your choice or contact the agencies mentioned above. You may visit our website at: www.indiaimmigrationusa.com or www.indiaimmigrationusa.blogspot.com for more information about other related immigration matters.