| This month,
the U.S. State Department issued instructions to the public regarding
the opening of the "DV-2003 diversity visa" lottery program, also
referred to as the "green card" lottery. As with prior years, this
year's DV lottery program will be open during the month of October
2001. Any applications must be received no earlier than noon of Monday,
October 1, 2001, and no later than noon of Wednesday, October 31,
2001. Applicants must adhere to this timeframe, as any DV entries
received outside the October time window will be disqualified from
consideration, regardless of the postmark date.
As with last year, citizens born in most countries around the world
are eligible for participation in this year's DV lottery. However,
natives of the following nations are specifically excluded from
DV eligibility:
- Canada
- China (except Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan, which
ARE eligible)
- Colombia
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Haiti
- India
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- South Korea
- United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland, which IS eligible)
- Vietnam
For the official announcement on this year's DV-2003 lottery, please
review the State Department's website, at the following URL:
http://travel.state.gov/visa_lottery.html
For the official instructions, please review the following URL:
http://travel.state.gov/visainstructions.html
--Daniel C. Horne, San Francisco Office
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