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2004
News :
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December
27, 2004
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Changes
to H1-B and L-1 Visa categories
On
December 8, 2004
President Bush
signed into law the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Acts of 2004.
While the law offers some good news in terms of more H-1B
visas becoming available for visa applicants who have earned a
graduate degree from a
US
university, it
also introduces restrictions on the L-1 visa category and will
result in higher fees for both H-1B and L-1 visa applications.
Not
all provisions of the new law go into effect immediately, so if you
are filing an H-1B or L-1 visa application in the near future, be
sure to speak with your attorney to understand how you may or may
not be affected.
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Changes
to the H1-B Visa Category
First,
the good news. Although
the new law does not increase the H-1B quota (or “cap”) –
which currently stands at 65,000 – it does create 2 new categories
of exempt applications that are not counted against the cap.
First,
there will be an exemption of 20,000 for H-1B applicants who have
earned a graduate degree – either a master’s or higher degree
– from an American university.
After those 20,000 slots are filled, subsequent applications
from qualified applicants will be counted against the cap.
Because
the cap for the current fiscal year (FY 2005) has already been
reached, this provision of the law brings welcome relief.
But, since the 20,000 additional slots will not be available
until
March 8, 2005
, the USCIS has
not yet issued instructions on how to file applications.
Those instructions should be issued in the near future, when
there is sure to be a rush of filings.
If you think that you may qualify to take advantage of one of
the soon-to-be-available visas, speak to an attorney immediately so
that your application can be submitted as soon as the USCIS starts
accepting them.
Second,
J-1 medical graduates who have received waivers under the Conrad 30
program also now will be exempt from the H-1B cap.
Even better, such applications can be submitted immediately
and there is no limitation on the number of applicants who can
benefit from this provision.
But,
while the new law offers some relief from the H-1B cap, it comes at
a high price, literally as the new law introduces (or reintroduces
in some instances) higher application fees.
First
the ACWIA fee – a fee used to train US workers and which has not
been collected since
October 1, 2003
– is being
reintroduced and increased from $1,000 to $1,500.
Employers with less than 25 full-time employees will only
have to pay $750 (as compared to $500 previously).
Those employers that were previously exempt from the ACWIA
fee (universities, non-profit research organizations, primary and
secondary schools, etc.) will continue to be exempt.
The ACWIA fee became effective as of
December 8, 2004
.
Additionally,
the new law introduces a new fee – the Fraud Prevention and
Detection Fee (or anti-fraud fee) – of $500 that will become
effective on
March 8, 2005
.
All initial petitions (Form I-129) for H-1B status will have
to pay the anti-fraud fee as well as those filed for employees
changing H-1B employers. It
will not have to be paid, however, when an application to amend or
extend H-1B status with the same H-1B employer.
The
ACWIA and anti-fraud fees will be charged in addition to the basic
processing fee of $185 and also in addition to the optional $1,000
fee for premium processing for 15-day processing.
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Changes
to the L1 Visa Category
The
new law affects the L-1 visa category in 3 areas.
First,
employers will no longer be able to outsource L-1B workers.
The L-1B visa classification is for workers who have been
transferred from overseas due to their specialized knowledge.
Essentially, the new law prevents employers from placing such
workers at the work site of a third-party employer that is not under
the direct control of the petitioning employer, thus precluding
“job shops” from using the L-1B category.
This provision takes effect on
June 6, 2005
and will affect
both initial applications as well as applications for extension or
amendment of status.
Second,
all applicants for blanket L-1 status – which allows for expedited
L-1 visa processing for employees of qualifying companies (generally
large companies or companies that process a large number of L-1 visa
applications) – will have to have at least 1 year of experience
working for their employer overseas.
Currently applicants only have to have 6 months of work
experience. This
provision of the law takes effect on
June 6, 2005
but will only
affect initial applications for blanket L-1 status.
Applicants who are granted L-1 blanket status prior to June 6
subsequently will still be able to renew their status, even if they
only worked overseas for 6 months.
Finally,
the $500 anti-fraud fee described above will also be levied against
all initial petitions (Form I-129) for L-1 status as well as for
those filed when an employee changes from one L-1 employer to
another. The $500 fee
will also be charged for employees filing a visa application abroad
under an L blanket petition (Form I-129S).
The fee, however, will not be charged to amend or extend L-1
status.
As
with the H-1B category, the $500 anti-fraud fee will be charged in
addition to the basic processing fee of $185 and also in addition to
the optional $1,000 fee for premium processing.
The new fee will apply to L-1 petitions filed after
March 8, 2005
.
For
the USCIS press releases concerning the new law, click below:
(H-1B)
http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/H-1B_12_9_04.pdf
(L-1)
http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/LVisa_12_9_2004.pdf
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| July
15, 2004
|
DOS
Visa Revalidation Program ends on July 16, 2004
The
Department of State (DOS) Visa Revalidation Program will end on
July 16, 2004
.
This very convenient program allowed individuals with certain
work-based temporary visas (C, E, H, I, L, O and P visas) to renew
their visa by mail from the
US
without having
to travel outside of the country.
The
DOS will continue to accept applications for the Visa Revalidation
Program that are physically received on
or before
July 16, 2004
.
Applications received after that date will be returned to
the applicant. Once
the program ends, applicants will have to obtain a new visa either
from a
US
embassy
or consulate in their home country or in a third country.
It’s
important to emphasize that the end of the Visa Revalidation Program
will in no way affect your underlying immigration status.
The visa in your passport is only required for entry into the
US
.
Your visa is not the same thing as your immigration status,
and you can be in lawful immigration status even if your visa has
expired.
Put
most simply, your visa allows you to board the plane and travel to
the
US
.
At the airport (or border if you travel by car from
Canada
or
Mexico
), you’ll
receive a Form I-94 (a small white card), which governs your status
and the length of time you can remain in the
US
.
If your I-94 is expiring, then you’ll have to extend your
status by submitting the appropriate application to the USCIS.
On the other hand, you only have to get a new visa if it has
expired and you subsequently travel outside of the
US
.
Let’s
take the example of Tom from
New Zealand
.
On
September 24,
2001
he received an
H-1B visa from the
US
embassy in
Wellington
.
The visa placed in his passport is valid for 3 years, through
September 2004. After
receiving his visa, Tom traveled to the
US
to begin work
and arrived on
October 1, 2001
.
Upon his arrival, he was given an I-94 with H-1B status until
October 1, 2004
.
The
3 years is almost up and Tom and his employer want to extend his
H-1B status for another 3 years, as allowed by the law.
Their attorney will submit a new petition (Form I-129 &
accompanying material) to the USCIS, and Tom’s H-1B status can be
extended through
October 1, 2007
.
As
for the H-1B visa in his passport, Tom only has to apply for a new
visa if he plans to travel outside of the
US
.
If, hypothetically, Tom won’t leave the
US
for the next 3
years, he doesn’t even need a new visa.
Let’s presume, however, that Tom plans to travel in
February 2005 to
Belgium
to visit his
sister who is studying there. In
that case he’ll have to obtain a new H-1B visa in his passport to
return to the
US
, and there are
three possible options for getting the visa.
Ideally,
he may be able to apply for the visa at the
US
embassy in
Brussels
, if the embassy
agrees to process his application.
Generally an embassy (or consulate) only processes
applications for citizens and legal residents of that country, but
it has the discretion to process applications from citizens of other
countries. Another
alternative would be to apply for a visa, before even leaving for
Europe
, at a
US
consulate in
Canada
or
Mexico
through a
process called Third Country National (TCN) processing.
To do so, Tom will have to make an appointment with the
consulate and travel there in person.
His final option, of course, and the least attractive in this
scenario, would be to travel back to
New Zealand
to apply for a
new visa at the
US
embassy in
Wellington
.
With
the disappearance of the Visa Revalidation Program, it’s more
important than ever that you plan accordingly for trips outside of
the
US
,
particularly if you travel a lot for work.
If you’re unsure if you need to renew your visa or for
assistance in doing so, speak to your attorney BEFORE leaving the
US
.
The
DOS website offers more information on both the end of the Visa
Revalidation Program and TCN processing through the following links:
http://www.travel.state.gov/revals.html
http://travel.state.gov/tcn.html
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July
7, 2004
|
New
SEVIS Fee to be Implemented on
September 1,
2004
Beginning
this fall, applicants for an F-1, M-1, or J-1 visa, as well as
individuals in the
US
applying for
Change of Status (Form I-539) to F-1, M-1 or J-1 status, will be
required to pay a $100 SEVIS fee.
This new fee will be
required in addition to the regular application fee.
The
Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) was established
in 2002 to maintain information on students (F-1 & M-1) and
exchange visitors (J-1) in the
US
.
It covers individuals with F-1, M-1, J-1 status, as well as
their family members.
The
new SEVIS fee goes into effect on September 1, 2004, which means
that you’ll only have to pay it if your Form I-20 (for F-1 and M-1
visas) or Form DS-2019 (for J-1 visas) is issued on or after that
date. If your I-20 or
DS-2019 is issued before September 1, you won’t have to pay the
new fee, even if you submit your application after that date.
Your
family members applying for F-2, M-2 or J-2 status, however, will
not be subject to the new fee.
The
new SEVIS fee will be $100 for all F-1 and M-1 applicants, as well
as most J-1 applicants. F-3
and M-3 applicants will also have to pay the $100 fee.
J-1 applicants coming to the
US
as an au pair,
a camp counselor or as part of a summer work/travel program,
however, will only have to pay a reduced SEVIS fee of $35.
Also, J-1 applicants participating in an exchange visitor
program that is sponsored by the
US
federal
government will not have to pay the SEVIS fee at all.
In
many circumstances it is possible that your school or J-1 program
sponsor may incorporate the new SEVIS fee directly into the fees
that you pay it and then pay the SEVIS fee for you.
If not, you’ll be responsible for paying the SEVIS fee
yourself.
For
the time being, if you do have to pay the SEVIS fee yourself,
you’ll have 2 payment options, either by mail or by the Internet.
If paying by mail, you’ll have to submit a check or money
order payable in US dollars. If
paying by Internet, you’ll be able to pay credit card.
In addition to the fee, you’ll also have to complete Form
I-901.
Once
the SEVIS fee is paid, you’ll receive a receipt which you’ll
then have to show at your visa interview.
In order to ensure that you receive your receipt in time,
you’ll have to pay the fee at least 3 days before your interview,
unless paying by Internet, in which case you’ll be able to print
out your receipt yourself at the time of making your payment.
If
you’re a Canadian citizen and don’t need to obtain a visa,
you’ll have to pay the SEVIS fee before applying for admission at
the border. If
submitting a Change of Status application (Form I-539), you’ll
have to pay the fee before submitting your application to the USCIS,
which will then be able to verify automatically that the fee was
paid.
For
further information on the SEVIS fee, contact your school or your
J-1 program sponsor, most importantly to determine if it will be
paying the SEVIS fee for you or if you’ll have to pay it yourself.
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June
20, 2004
|
Current
H-1B Usage for FY (Fiscal Year) 2005
At
the recent American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Annual
Conference held in
Philadelphia
, the USCIS
announced that as of the end of May approximately 16,100 H-1B
visas have already been approved for the 2005 Fiscal Year (FY)
beginning on
October 1, 2004
.
This means that approximately 25% of the FY 2005 quota of
65,000 visas has already been allocated and that invariably the
H-1B cap will be hit well before the end of FY 2005, which will
again leave a lot of potential H-1B workers stranded and unable to
begin work for many, many months.
If
you haven’t been following the H-1B saga, the key to understanding
the problem is that there are only 65,000 H-1B visas available each
fiscal year (the fiscal year runs from October 1 until September
30). This quota (or
“cap” as it’s referred to) only affects workers applying for
their first H-1B visa and therefore does not concern a worker
switching from an existing H-1B employer to a new one.
Also excluded from the cap are workers employed by
universities and certain non-profit research institutions.
Once the 65,000 visas have been allocated and the cap has
been reached for the Fiscal Year, a first-time H-1B applicant has to
wait for the beginning of the new Fiscal Year to begin work.
In
February 2004, less than 5 months into the 2004 Fiscal Year, the FY
2004 cap was reached. As
a result, a first-time H-1B applicant can’t begin work until after
October 1, 2004
and the start
of FY 2005. However,
because an H-1B petition can be submitted up to 6 months before
employment begins, the USCIS has been accepting H-1B petitions
for FY-2005 since April 1, 2004 (for work to begin on or after
October 1).
Although
it was initially feared that there would be a flood of petitions
submitted in April and the FY 2005 cap would be reached shortly
thereafter, not as many petitions were initially filed as expected.
Nonetheless, the recent USCIS announcement to AILA and its
members means the cap could be reached before the end of this
calendar year if the current rate of submissions continues.
In that case, first-time H-1B applicants would not be able to
begin work until October 2005!!
What
does this all mean in plain English?
If you’re considering filing for your first H-1B petition, do
it as soon as possible! Although
you won’t be able to begin work until after October 1, you still
need to file the petition now in order to avoid being cut off by the
cap. Once the cap is
reached, you’ll then have to wait until October 2005 to begin work
unless you qualify for some other category of visa.
My
office has already submitted numerous H-1B petitions for clients to
begin work in October, and we’d welcome the opportunity of
preparing yours. To
find out more about the services and assistance we can provide to
you and your employer, please contact our office.
Also, check this page regularly for more information on H-1B
usage as it becomes available.
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June
17, 2004
|
DV-2004
Lottery Update
The
final months of processing for DV-2004 applications are now upon
us, and all DV-2004 cases must be processed and approved before
September
30, 2004
.
After that date, the DV-2004 lottery will be over, and the
government cannot process any more DV-2004 cases.
In light of the looming deadline, this update will provide
you with some hints on what to do and how to prepare if your
DV-2004 case is still pending.
Each
month the US Department of State (DOS) publishes the Visa Bulletin,
which lists the DV cases that will be processed for the next two
months. The bulletin is
available on the DOS website at:
http://travel.state.gov/visa_bulletin.html
The
July 2004 bulletin, which was issued on June 8, lists the case
numbers that will be processed and scheduled for interview through
August.
If
your case number is BELOW that listed for your region and you
have not yet been contacted concerning your interview at the
US
embassy, you need to make sure the lawyer representing you
immediately contacts the DOS about the status of your case as there
could be a problem somewhere.
If
your case number is ABOVE that listed, you’ll have to wait for
the release of the next bulletin to see if your case will be
processed in the months to come.
An
example always makes things easier to understand, so let’s take
the case of Peter from
Zambia
.
His case number is AF
34,500 – the AF indicates the
Africa
region.
According to the July bulletin, his case won’t be ready for
processing in either July or August.
Hopefully he’ll be interviewed in September.
Based on how the DOS has been progressing through the case
numbers, he should have his interview in time, but there’s no
guarantee. Remember,
there are only 50,000 visas available through the lottery, and they
could all be allocated September 30.
Conversely, it’s also possible that the September 30
deadline arrives without all 50,000 visas being issued.
Once
Peter has an interview, he’s not totally in the clear yet.
His application will actually have to be approved and he’ll
have to receive his visa in his passport before September 30.
Along the way there are numerous obstacles that can pop up,
so it’s important that everything be in order before your
interview to avoid such delays or to be able to resolve them as
quickly as possible. There
will be very little time after the interview to sort things out.
Incomplete
visa applications and missing documents are one problem area that
can easily be avoided by careful preparation.
The DOS has very specific country-by-country guidelines about
the documentation that must be submitted with each visa application,
and providing the wrong version of your birth certificate, for
example, could result in a delay.
Hopefully you have selected a properly qualified
immigration lawyer to see to all these matters!
More
seriously, the embassy official could have questions about your
underlying eligibility to get a visa.
Some of the more common legal questions that could
arise are:
· Do
you actually have the equivalent of a high school diploma or,
alternatively, the correct work experience?
·
Did you
ever commit a crime that might now prevent you from getting a visa?
·
Were you previously in the
US
and violate
your immigration status so that you now are prohibited from
returning?
·
Can you show that you will be able to support yourself (and
your family) once you are in the
US
?
If
you have any questions about your application and eligibility or if
you already have had your interview and have run into one of the
infamous roadblocks mentioned above, you should seek the assistance
of an immigration attorney right away.
Every
year many lottery winners contact my office for assistance with
their visa applications but unfortunately some of them contact me
too late for me to help in any way.
For such cases they simply have to abandon their chance of
getting their visa.
Although
deceptively simple in appearance, getting a visa through the
lottery is as complicated as any other visa application.
Don’t leave the success of your application to chance! Make
sure you seek guidance and assistance from a properly qualified
professional at the earliest possible stage.
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February
16, 2004
|
Processing
changes at the Boston District Office
Starting
on Tuesday, February 17, the Boston District Office will no
longer offer same-day issuance of
Advance Parole documents or work permits (i.e.,
Employment Authorization Documents). This
change concerns individuals who already have pending adjustment of
status (i.e., green card) applications with the office or who will
be submitting their applications in the future.
Although
you will still be able to submit your I-131 and I-765 applications
in person at the Boston office, the application(s) will then be sent
to the National Benefit Center (NBC) in Missouri for
processing.
The Boston office, of course, will still be responsible for
conducting adjustment interviews.
This
change in processing, referred to as “Indirect Filing,”
is part of a larger USCIS strategy to centralize processing for
family-based adjustment applications through the NBC.
Many local offices have already switched over to it, and
others will follow in the months to come.
Unfortunately,
Indirect Filing will now mean long delays in getting Advance
Parole documents and work permits.
The Boston office had been one of the rare offices nationwide
to issue such documents on the same day, but alas those days are
no over!
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February
13, 2004
|
Not
many H-1B visas left for this year
Earlier
this week the USCIS notified the American Immigration Lawyers
Association (AILA) that the cap (or limit) of 65,000 H-1B
visas available for this fiscal year (which runs until September 30,
2004) has not yet been reached and that, for the time being,
it will continue to accept new H-1B petitions.
Throughout
the week, there were “rumors” that the cap would be
reached effectively ending H-1B processing until October, but
fortunately those rumors turned out to be incorrect.
All the same, it is very likely that the cap will be reached
in the very near future, and at that point the USCIS will stop
accepting new H-1B petitions.
If
you plan on applying for an H-1B visa, do so immediately!
Otherwise you will have to wait, at a minimum, until October
and the beginning of the new fiscal year for your petition to be
processed.
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January
16, 2004
|
Immigration
Reform Back on the Table
Last
week President Bush relaunched the debate on immigration reform when
he introduced his proposal for a new temporary worker program.
Although the details of President Bush’s program have yet
to even be defined, his announcement on January 7 outlined its very
broad parameters:
·
It would offer temporary worker
status to both individuals who are already in the
US
and those outside of the country.
Individuals illegally in the US would be eligible to
participate at the outset. In
the future, however, only people outside of the US would be able to
join the program.
·
The
program would only offer temporary status.
It would not lead to permanent residency (i.e., a green card)
and in this sense would not be an amnesty.
The last time an amnesty was enacted was in 1986.
·
Workers
would receive a three-year, renewable visa.
Afterwards they would have to return to their home country.
·
Visas would be available for
workers performing all types of work – the current visa system
favors workers in skilled, professional positions.
·
Workers
under the new program would be able to freely travel in and out of
the US.
A
considerable number of questions about this proposal are still left
unanswered, and needless to say, it is only an opening salvo in the
debate on immigration reform. With
the upcoming presidential elections, immigration reform will surely
be a hot topic as both Republicans and Democrats court ethnic
voters.
It
could take months, a year, or even longer before any new law is
passed and enacted.
In the
US
, the path for a proposal to become a law is long
and tortuous.
Once a
proposal is formally introduced as a bill in Congress, both houses
of Congress must first agree on its terms.
Next, the President must then give his final approval before
it can become law. All
along this path to becoming a law – if it even reaches this stage
– a bill can change in a hundred different ways, becoming more (or
less) favorable to immigration.
Most bills do not even become law.
Stay
tuned for updates but don’t hold your breath too long!
The last time immigration reform was discussed was in 2001.
The tragic events of September 11, however, postponed any
further action until now.
For
more information on the President’s initiative, visit the White
House Internet site at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040107-1.html
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|
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January
6, 2004
|
New
regulations for people travelling to the US with a visa
Yesterday
the
US
government implemented the first phase of its new
program aimed at creating a comprehensive system to record the
arrival and departure of individuals traveling to the
US
with a visa.
When
fully implemented, this new program, referred to as US-VISIT,
will require individuals to have their fingerprints and a digital
photograph taken upon both their arrival and departure from the
US
.
Not
everyone, however, will be subject to US-VISIT.
Only individuals traveling with a nonimmigrant (i.e.,
temporary) visa are affected.
US
permanent
residents (i.e., people with a green card) will not be fingerprinted
or photographed. Furthermore,
the following visa categories are exempt: A visas, C-3 visas, G
visas, and NATO visas.
Also
exempt are children under the age of 14 and persons over 79, as well
as individuals traveling under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
The VWP countries include:
Andorra
,
Australia
,
Austria
,
Belgium
,
Brunei
,
Denmark
,
Finland
,
France
,
Germany
,
Iceland
,
Ireland
,
Italy
,
Japan
,
Liechtenstein
,
Luxembourg
,
Monaco
, the
Netherlands
,
New Zealand
,
Norway
,
Portugal
,
San Marino
,
Singapore
,
Slovenia
,
Spain
,
Sweden
,
Switzerland
, and
United Kingdom
.
Note,
however, that someone traveling from a VWP country (e.g., the
United Kingdom
) with a visa is subject to US-VISIT.
For example, a
UK
national traveling with an H-1B visa is subject
to US-VISIT whereas his fellow citizen traveling without a visa
under the VWP for a 2 week holiday is not.
Under
the new US-VISIT procedure, an immigration inspector will
digitally scan a traveler’s fingerprints and photograph upon
arrival – a process that is expected to only take 15 seconds –
and then the person will “check himself out” by using a
self-service “exit kiosk” when leaving the US.
Failure
to comply with the US-VISIT requirements, particularly when leaving
the country, could later result in someone being denied a visa or
subsequent entry into the
US
.
As
currently implemented, however, US-VISIT is not yet fully
functional. First, the
government is only processing individuals upon arrival and not yet
upon departure, with the exception of people flying out of
Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Airport in
Baltimore
,
Maryland
and those
sailing out of the
port
of
Miami
,
Florida
.
The government will be installing additional exit kiosks, as
part of a pilot program, in the months to come until ultimately,
sometime in the (distant?) future, all individuals leaving the
country will have to check themselves out.
Second,
this first phase of US-VISIT only covers individuals arriving by
plane or boat. It
has not yet been implemented at land crossings.
As of yesterday, 115 airports and 14 seaports began
processing people under US-VISIT.
It is expected that this year nearly 23 million people will
be processed at these airports and seaports.
US-VISIT is supposed to be in place at the 50 busiest land
crossings by the end of this year.
For
further information on US-VISIT, visit the Internet site of the US
Department of Homeland Security at:
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0333.xml
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January
2, 2004
|
Diversity Visa
Lottery
The
application period for last year’s Diversity Visa Lottery
(DV-2005) ended on Tuesday, December 30.
Despite the extended, two month application period, the
number of DV applicants dropped dramatically this year.
According to press reports, the number of applications fell
from nearly 13 million last year to approximately 6 million this
year.
This
dramatic drop is due to the fact that beginning this year lottery
applications had to be submitted electronically through the
Department of State’s (DOS) website.
This Internet-based application procedure affected the number
of applications in several ways.
To begin with, it prevented individuals from submitting
duplicate applications.
Next,
potential lottery applicants, particularly those in the US
illegally, were reluctant to submit information about themselves to
the US government for fear that the information could ultimately be
used to track them down and deport them or, for individuals outside
of the US, to prevent them from entering the US.
Finally,
and perhaps more importantly, the low number of applications can
also be explained by technical problems with the Internet-based
application procedure itself. To
begin with, individuals without Internet access could not submit an
application. Those with
Internet access but who waited until the last minute to submit their
application encountered even greater frustration as the DOS computer
servers were unable to handle the last-minute tidal wave of
applications. Many
potential applicants were unable to access the DOS lottery page, and
those lucky enough to do so often were cut off half way through the
application process. For
many, the on-line registration process became an all-day nightmare,
often not even resulting in their being able to submit their lottery
registration.
My
office successfully submitted all applications for our clients who
timely provided us with their material.
Moreover, with the new Internet-based application system, we
were able to submit more than double the number of applications this
year, and we now look forward to having twice as many lottery
winners!
Lottery
winners will be notified between May and June 2004.
They will then have to receive their green card between
October 1, 2004 and September 30, 2005.
This
year’s lottery (DV-2006) will invariably be held between November
and December 2004.
In August 2004, the DOS will announce the official
registration period as well as any changes to the registration
process.
For those applicants who missed last year’s deadline, we
have already begun to prepare their application’s for this
year’s lottery, and we welcome the possibility of assisting you.
Contact my office directly for more information or consult
the lottery page of my website, which will be updated with
instructions for DV-2006.
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| Other
News :
For
information concerning other years, we invite you to visit the corresponding
page. Select the year you
want to research :
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