2015 Diversity Visa
Program Registration
Nigeria has sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the US in the last five years. This was the reason behind the removal of the country from the list of countries that can participate in the 2015 DV Lottery For DV-2015 as related by Jeffrey Hawkins, the US Consul General, an hour ago.
Nigeria joins BANGLADESH, BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA and DOMINICAN REPUBLIC in this category. others similarly blacklisted are: ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PERU, PHILIPPINES, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM.
The 2015 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2015) will open at 12:00
p.m. EDT (GMT-4), Tuesday, October 1, 2013, and will close at 12:00 p.m. EDT,
Saturday, November 2, 2013. Applicants must submit entries electronically
during this registration period using the electronic DV entry form (E-DV) at
dvlottery.state.gov. Paper
entries will not be accepted. All entrants must print and retain their
online confirmation page after completing their DV entries so that they will be
able to check their entry status. We strongly encourage applicants not to
wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy
demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after
12:00 p.m. EDT on November 2, 2013.
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 and provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity
immigrants.” Section 203(c) of the INA provides a maximum of 55,000
Diversity Visas each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries
with low rates of immigration to the United States. Fifty-five thousand
immigrant visas are set aside for DV immigrants; however, since DV-1999,
Congress has set aside 5,000 of this annual allocation to be made available for
use under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA).
The annual DV program makes visas available to persons
meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A
computer-generated, random drawing chooses selectees for Diversity Visas.
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 nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the
United States over the period of the past five years. No single country
may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in any one
year.
A “native” ordinarily means someone born within a particular
country, regardless of the individual's current country of residence or
nationality. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are
eligible.
The Department of State implemented the electronic
registration system beginning with DV-2005 in order to make the Diversity Visa
process more efficient and secure. We utilize special technology and
other means to identify those who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal
immigration or those who submit multiple entries.
For DV-2015, the Department of State will once again
implement an online process to notify entrants of their selection, and to
provide information about the immigrant visa application and interview.
Beginning May 1, 2014, DV-2015 entrants will be able to use their unique
confirmation number provided at registration to check online through Entry
Status Check at
dvlottery.state.gov
to see if their entry was selected. Successful entrants will receive
instructions for how to apply for immigrant visas for themselves and their
eligible family members. Changes in U.S. immigration practice as a result
of the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down part of the Defense of
Marriage Act also apply to DV-2015 applicants.
U.S.
embassies and consulates will adjudicate visa applications that are based on a
same-sex marriage in the same way as applications for opposite gender spouses.
Confirmation of visa interview appointments will also be
made through Entry Status Check.
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