Alexander Kovalchuk
Let us recall that applications for the Green Card lottery were accepted during a 60-day registration period from November 5, 2004 to January 7, 2005. According to the Green Card lottery results, 90,000 applicants were notified of their selection in the first stage of the drawing, and they may apply for an immigrant visa to the United States. However, residents of different countries are allocated only 50,000 U.S. immigrant visas in total. For each country, the annual quota is no more than 7% of visas, meaning that no more than 3,500 people emigrate from a single country, regardless of the number of winners.
The mailing of selection notifications this year was supposed to be completed, according to some reports, by the end of July. Winners received corresponding notices from the Consular Center in Kentucky (KCC), which runs the program. There is no other way to learn of one's victory, since more than 6 million people participated in the lottery this year, and the KCC is simply unable to respond to applicants' inquiries about the fate of the applications they submitted.
As usual, the notification contains the case number assigned to the winner. Since the processing of cases and scheduling of interviews for winners and their family members are conducted in order of queue, those with lower numbers will receive immigrant visas more quickly.
The package sent by the KCC also contains forms for all family members of the lottery winner who are eligible to apply for immigrant visas. Let us recall that these include the winner's spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age. The attached instructions describe the procedure for filling out the forms and all subsequent steps up to attending an interview at the U.S. consulate.
One should not forget that the very fact of being selected in the lottery does not guarantee receiving an immigrant visa and entry into the United States. The winner and his or her family members must meet both the general requirements of U.S. immigration law and the rules established by the Diversity Visa Program. An immigrant visa may be denied due to serious diseases, the list of which is approved by the U.S. Department of Health; drug addiction; a conviction for certain types of crimes; insufficient financial support of the applicant and his or her being considered a potential burden on society; deportation of the applicant from the United States; or illegal presence in the territory of the United States.
In addition, the participant must not violate the established requirements. According to the rules, only those who have at least a secondary education or two years (out of the last five) of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience may participate in the lottery. Persons who do not meet this criterion will be disqualified even if they win.
Winners should hurry to fill out and return the forms to the KCC, since even a low case number in itself does not guarantee an early interview appointment if your forms are received late.
After sending the forms, you need to wait for the second package containing the interview invitation. As a rule, it arrives one to two months before the interview date. You will also receive detailed instructions on undergoing the medical examination and collecting the necessary documents.
You will need to prepare international passports and birth certificates for all family members, a school leaving certificate or diploma of the principal applicant (if the level of education is sufficient, a work experience document is not needed), marriage or divorce certificate, military ID, police certificates confirming no criminal record (for all family members over 16 years of age), proof of financial solvency, confirmation of the 'good faith' of a marriage entered into after receiving the notification of winning, as well as sealed envelopes with medical examination results and two additional photographs.
Those who were not lucky this year will be able to try their luck next time — the U.S. State Department has promised to publish the rules and dates for the DV-2007 lottery as early as August.