Immigration News

Diversity Visa Lottery 2013 (DV-2013) Results Announced

 

The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2013 diversity lottery.  The diversity lottery was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and makes available *50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.  Approximately 105,628 applicants have been registered. Applicants may check the status of their entry using the confirmation number through Entrant Status Check on the website www.dvlottery.state.gov. Entrants selected may make an application for an immigrant visa. Since it is likely that some of the first *50,000 persons registered will not pursue their cases to visa issuance, this larger figure should insure that all DV-2013 numbers will be used during fiscal year 2013 (October 1, 2012 until September 30, 2013).

Applicants registered for the DV-2013 program were selected at random from 7,941,400 qualified entries (12,577,463 with derivatives) received during the 30-day application period that ran from noon, Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, until noon, Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday, November 5, 2011.  The visas have been apportioned among six geographic regions with a maximum of seven percent available to persons born in any single country.  During the visa interview, principal applicants must provide proof of a high school education or its equivalent, or show two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience within the past five years.  Those selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly.  Applicants should follow the instructions provided on the website www.dvlottery.state.gov.

Registrants living legally in the United States who wish to apply for adjustment of their status must contact the USCIS for information on the requirements and procedures.  Once the total *50,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2013 will end.  Selected applicants who do not receive visas by September 30, 2013 will derive no further benefit from their DV-2013 registration.  Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2013 principal applicants are only entitled to derivative diversity visa status until September 30, 2013.

Dates for the DV-2014 program registration period will be widely publicized in the coming months.  Those interested in entering the DV-2014 program should check the Department of State’s Visa web page for more details in September.

* The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress

in November 1997 stipulated that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas be made available for use under the NACARA program.  The reduction of the limit of available visas to 50,000 began with DV-2000.

The following is the statistical breakdown by foreign-state chargeability of those registered for the DV-2013 program:

AFRICA
ALGERIA 2,161 GABON 38 SAO TOME & PRINCIPE 0
ANGOLA 47 GAMBIA, THE 85 SENEGAL 394
BENIN 809 GHANA 5,105 SEYCHELLES 0
BOTSWANA 18 GUINEA 1,350 SIERRA LEONE 2,516
BURKINA FASO 296 GUINEA-BISSAU 25 SOMALIA 197
BURUNDI 94 KENYA 4,410 SOUTH AFRICA 956
CAMEROON 3,858 LESOTHO 6 SOUTH SUDAN 5
CAPE VERDE 25 LIBERIA 1,916 SUDAN 747
CENTRAL AFRICAN REP. 18 LIBYA 138 SWAZILAND 3
CHAD 28 MADAGASCAR 40 TANZANIA 150
COMOROS 8 MALAWI 29 TOGO 1,065
CONGO 156 MALI 80 TUNISIA 145
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE 3,924 MAURITANIA 31 UGANDA 513
COTE D’IVOIRE 805 MAURITIUS 67 ZAMBIA 87
DJIBOUTI 79 MOROCCO 2,068 ZIMBABWE 169
EGYPT 5,015 MOZAMBIQUE 10
EQUATORIAL GUINEA 19 NAMIBIA 21
ERITREA 804 NIGER 53
ETHIOPIA 4,910 NIGERIA 6,218
RWANDA 369
ASIA
AFGHANISTAN 128 ISRAEL 175 OMAN 10
BAHRAIN 15 JAPAN 440 QATAR 24
BHUTAN 4 JORDAN 251 SAUDI ARABIA 287
BRUNEI 8 NORTH KOREA 0 SINGAPORE 31
BURMA 403 KUWAIT 137 SRI LANKA 802
CAMBODIA 986 LAOS 1 SYRIA 170
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMIN.REGION 92 LEBANON 269 TAIWAN 360
INDONESIA 215 MALAYSIA 67 THAILAND 75
IRAN 6,029 MALDIVES 0 TIMOR-LESTE 1
IRAQ 164 MONGOLIA 167 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 98
NEPAL 4,370 YEMEN 266
EUROPE
ALBANIA 1,520 GERMANY 1,253 NORTHERN IRELAND 45
ANDORRA 0 GREECE 99 NORWAY 50
ARMENIA 1,174 HUNGARY 246 POLAND 2,038
AUSTRIA 108 ICELAND 38 PORTUGAL 40
AZERBAIJAN 373 IRELAND 138   Macau 2
BELARUS 1,195 ITALY 396 ROMANIA 711
BELGIUM 79 KAZAKHSTAN 533 RUSSIA 2,846
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA 54 KOSOVO 183 SAN MARINO 0
BULGARIA 1,299 KYRGYZSTAN 237 SERBIA 303
CROATIA 75 LATVIA 140 SLOVAKIA 100
CYPRUS 10 LIECHTENSTEIN 0 SLOVENIA 5
CZECH REPUBLIC 73 LITHUANIA 248 SPAIN 196
DENMARK 77 LUXEMBOURG 4 SWEDEN 162
  Faroe Islands 9 MACEDONIA 262 SWITZERLAND 131
ESTONIA 47 MALTA 4 TAJIKISTAN 330
FINLAND 72 MOLDOVA 1,330 TURKEY 1,807
FRANCE 549 MONACO 3 TURKMENISTAN 94
  French Polynesia 11 MONTENEGRO 11 UKRAINE 6,424
  New Caledonia 0 NETHERLANDS 109 UZBEKISTAN 5,101
  Saint Barthelemy 4   Aruba 8 VATICAN CITY 0
GEORGIA 723   Curacao 7
  Sint Maarten 2
NORTH AMERICA
BAHAMAS, THE 16
OCEANIA
AUSTRALIA 1,035 NAURU 14 TONGA 91
  Christmas Islands 0 NEW ZEALAND 373 TUVALU 3
  Cocos Island 2   Cook Islands 0 VANUATU 5
  Norfolk Island 4   Niue 7 WESTERN SAMOA 30
FIJI 597   Tokelau 7
KIRIBATI 5 PALAU 1
MARSHALL ISLANDS 0 PAPUA NEW GUINEA 18
MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF 1 SAMOA 0
SOLOMON ISLANDS 0
SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA 3 DOMINICA 17 SAINT LUCIA 19
ARGENTINA 117 GRENADA 18 VINCENT & THE GRENADINES 14
BARBADOS 5 GUYANA 43 SURINAME 4
BELIZE 22 HONDURAS 90 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 137
BOLIVIA 74 NICARAGUA 65 URUGUAY 15
CHILE 42 PANAMA 31 VENEZUELA 924
COSTA RICA 63 PARAGUAY 8
CUBA 490 SAINT KITTS & NEVIS 5

Natives of the following countries were not eligible to participate in DV-2013:  Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born, excluding Hong Kong S.A.R., Macau S.A.R., and Taiwan), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

Diversity Visa Lottery (DV-2013) Entry Status Check

The online registration for DV-2013 began October 4, 2011 and concluded on November 5, 2011. Entrants who completed online DV-2013 entries can check the status of their entries by returning to the website at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov on or after May 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013.

Even if you are not selected on May 1, 2012, you should keep your confirmation number until at least September 2013. The Department of State may select more DV-2013 entries on or around October 1, 2012.

Entry Status Check will be the ONLY means by which DV lottery winners/selectees will be notified of their selection for DV-2013. Additionally, Entry Status Check will provide you, the successful selectee, instructions on how to proceed with your application and 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 program. Review the DV Program 2013 Instructions “Selection of Applicants” section, which provides detailed information about the DV process.

If you 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 an immigrant visa application, submit required documents and forms, pay required fees, complete a medical examination, and then next 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 online ONLY through the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website www.dvlottery.state.gov.

It is expected that the next application period for the DV Lottery (DV-2014) will be between October and December this year. Official dates, rules and eligible countries should be announced by late September. For more information, go to the official US State Department website at www.dvlottery.state.gov. You may also contact our office in the early fall for more information and assistance to complete another application. Be aware that the application for the DV lottery is free and you do not need to pay any agency to enter.

Advocacy at City Hall and Albany

 

EIIC participated in a number of advocacy events in New York City and Albany over the last few weeks, highlighting the difficulties that immigrants face and encouraging legislators to enact solutions.

EIIC was well represented at the NYIC’s Annual Day of Action on April 17 at City Hall. Staff, including Executive Director Siobhan Dennehy and Director of Legal Services John Stahl, Esq., met with city politicians to discuss the issues facing immigrants in New York City. The Center also brought a group of community members who joined over 200 immigrants at the event.

On March 14 EIIC staff and a bus full of community members went upstate to participate in the Immigrants’ Day of Action in Albany. The event was organized by New York Immigration Coalition of which the Center is an active and engaged member. Thanks to all of those who traveled and delivered a message to legislators about the needs of immigrants in New York.

Photos of both advocacy days are available on the EIIC Facebook page.

USCIS Publishes Proposal for Stateside Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver Process

 

On April 2nd, the USCIS published a proposed regulation to permit certain spouses & children of US citizens subject to the bars for unlawful presence and ineligible to adjust status within the United States to apply for an I-601 Provisional Waiver before traveling abroad for their immigrant visa interview.  See below and the following links to the USCIS website for more information. There is a 60 day comment period for the proposed regulation which ends on June 1st.

 

Proposed Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers

Reminder: This proposed process is not in effect. To learn more, read this alert.

What USCIS Proposes

On March 30, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register requesting public comment on its plan to create an alternative process for certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to apply for and receive a provisional waiver of the unlawful presence ground of inadmissibility while still in the United States, if they can demonstrate that being separated from their U.S. citizen spouse or parent would cause that U.S. citizen relative extreme hardship. The goal of the proposed process change is to reduce the time that U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives while those family members go through the consular process overseas to obtain an immigrant visa.

Why We Propose It

Currently, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who have accrued a certain period of unlawful presence in the United States are barred from returning to the United States for as long as 3 or 10 years if they leave the country. Immediate relatives can obtain a waiver of the unlawful presence bar if they show that a U.S. citizen spouse or parent will experience extreme hardship if they are required to remain outside the United States. The immediate relative also would have to show that they warrant a favorable exercise of discretion.   But in order to obtain the waiver, these individuals must depart the United States and wait abroad while the waiver is processed.

Under the current process, therefore, U.S. citizens suffer unnecessarily long periods of separation while family members go through consular processing overseas to obtain an immigrant visa. The proposed process change lessens the length of separation by reducing inefficiencies in the current immigrant visa process. USCIS believes that this proposed change will streamline the immigrant visa process for immediate relatives whose only ground of inadmissibility is unlawful presence. USCIS plans to adjudicate the provisional waiver application in the United States before the immediate relative departs for his or her immigrant visa interview, which will reduce the length of time immediate relatives must spend abroad for consular processing.

What the Proposed Process Would Do

Under the proposed process, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who would need a waiver of unlawful presence in order to obtain an immigrant visa could file a new Form I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver, before leaving the United States to obtain an immigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. All individuals eligible for this streamlined process are still required to depart the United States and must meet all legal requirements for issuance of an immigrant visa and admission to the United States.

An individual may seek a provisional unlawful presence waiver if he or she:

  • Is physically present in the United States;
  • Is at least 17 years of age;
  • Is the beneficiary of an approved immigrant visa petition (I-130) classifying him or her as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen;
  • Is actively pursuing the immigrant visa process and has already paid the Department of State immigrant visa processing fee;
  • Is not subject to any other grounds of inadmissibility other than unlawful presence; and
  • Can demonstrate that the refusal of admission would result in extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse or parent.

An immediate relative would not be eligible for the proposed process if he or she:

  • Has an application already pending with USCIS for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident;
  • Is subject to a final order of removal or reinstatement of a prior removal order;
  • May be found inadmissible at the time of the consular interview for reasons other than unlawful presence; or
  • Has already been scheduled for an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad.

Allowing immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to receive provisional waivers in the United States before departure for their immigrant visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate means that:

  • Immigrant visa processing times will improve because of greater capacity in the United States and fewer case transfers between USCIS and the Department of State;
  • Immigrant visas will be issued without unnecessary delay (if the individual is otherwise eligible); and
  • The period of separation and hardship many U.S. citizens would face due to prolonged separation from their family members will be minimized.

Next Steps

This new process will be implemented only after USCIS publishes a final rule in the Federal Register with an effective date. USCIS will consider all comments received as part of the proposed rulemaking process before publishing the final rule. The current waiver process remains in place and will continue to remain for those who may not be eligible for a provisional waiver.

DO NOT file an application or request a provisional waiver at this time. Any applications filed with USCIS based on this NPRM will be rejected and the application package returned to the applicant, including any fees, until the final rule is issued and the change becomes effective.

For additional information, please see our I-601A Questions and Answers document, linked at the upper-right side of this page.

This page can be found at: http://www.uscis.gov/provisionalwaiver

 

Last updated: 03/30/2012

Petitioning Cuomo, at City Hall, to get involved in the Dream Act in Albany

Petitioning Cuomo, at City Hall, to get involved in the Dream Act in Albany

Capital New York.

BY ELIZABETH GONZALEZ 1:06 pm Mar. 21, 2012

Against a backdrop of more than 50 students holding banners and chanting “si se puede” on the steps of City Hall at high noon on Tuesday, council members and immigration advocates took turns demanding passage of the so-called New York State Dream Act, a proposal on which Governor Andrew Cuomo has yet to take a position.

The legislation would give undocumented young immigrants access to tuition aid, and Cuomo’s support is crucial if the bill is to get through Albany. But the governor has kept his distance so far, possibly out of concern that support for it could adversely affect a bid for president in 2016.

Participants in the event included Council speaker Christine Quinn and Councilmen Ydanis Rodriguez and Daniel Dromm. Most of them appealed to the governor directly, urging him to include the act in the state budget.

“It makes economic sense,” Councilwoman Gale Brewer. “It makes student sense. It makes all kinds of sense.”

“Governor Cuomo, we were so proud of you with what you did with gay marriage last year,” said Jose Calderon, of the Hispanic Federation. “Do the same thing you did for the gay community, for the immigrant community.”

An hour after the rally, a portion of the same crowd filed into a committee room at 250 Broadway, where a joint hearing of the Council’s committees on immigration and higher education pursued the subject further, calling for a “New York Dream Fund” to accompany the act.

“New York has always been a leader in immigration law,” said Quinn. “We must continue to be.”

While Dream acts have been passed in California and Texas, and a fund created in Illinois, New York State’s immigration population arguably stands to benefit the most from passage of such a bill.

Of the nearly 1.8 million young undocumented immigrants in the United States, 400,000 of them could benefit from a New York Dream Act, according to Emerald Isle Immigration Center, an organization that advocates for the legislation.

According to the EIIC, workers in New York with a bachelor’s degree earn a median income of $25,000 more than those with only a high school diploma.

(See EIIC written testimony in support of NY DREAM Act and Fund)

Ydanis Rodriguez, chair of the Council’s higher education committee, said it’s vital to provide tuition help to give the immigrant population a chance to enter the middle class.

Katherine Tabares, who spoke at the rally and at the committee hearing, called the legislation “investment in intellectual capital.”

“The money you spend now will be returned,” she said.

Tabares, 16, emigrated from Colombia two years ago and is now a senior and president of her class at International High School at La Guardia Community College, with a 3.9 grade-point average and hopes of a career in environmental engineering.

“With the G.P.A. that you have, there shouldn’t be any obstacle,” said chairman Ydanis Rodriguez, standing up and addressing Tabares along with three other students who testified.

“You will graduate from college,” Rodriguez said, pointing at the students. “You are a role model.”

EIIC written testimony in support of NY DREAM Act and Fund