October 7 2002

Each year 50,000 permanent resident visas (greencards) are made available, by random lottery, to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The lottery program is called the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV), and is administered by the U.S. Department of State. Applicants from qualified countries must meet specific eligibility requirements.

Entries for the DV-2004 Diversity Visa Lottery MUST be RECEIVED at one of the Kentucky Consular Center Mailing Addresses between noon on Monday, October 7, 2002 and noon on Wednesday, November 6, 2002. Entries received before or after these dates will be disqualified regardless of when they are postmarked. Entries mailed to any address other than the Kentucky Consular Center Addresses will be disqualified.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY

• Applicant must be a native of one of the qualifying countries.

  Native of a country whose natives qualify: In most cases this means the country in which the applicant was born. However, if a person was born in a country whose natives are ineligible but his/her spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible, such person can claim the spouse's country of birth providing both the applicant and spouse are issued visas and enter the U.S. simultaneously. If a person was born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but neither of his/her parents was born there or resided there at the time of the birth, such person may be able to claim nativity in one of the parents' country of birth.

  The list of qualifying countries is at the bottom of this article.

• Applicant must meet either the education or training requirement of the DV program.

  Education or Training: An applicant must have EITHER a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.

If the applicant cannot meet these requirements, he or she should NOT submit an entry to the DV program.

More information on applying for the DV-2004 lottery can be obtained from the Department of State's website at www.travel.state.gov, or by contacting an immigration attorney.

Qualifying Countries:

AFRICA

ALGERIA
ANGOLA
BENIN
BOTSWANA
BURKINA FASO
BURUNDI
CAMEROON
CAPE VERDE
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
CHAD
COMOROS
CONGO
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE
COTE D'IVOIRE (IVORY COAST)
DJIBOUTI
EGYPT
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
ERITREA
ETHIOPIA
GABON
GAMBIA, THE
GHANA
GUINEA
GUINEA-BISSAU
KENYA
LESOTHO
LIBERIA
LIBYA
MADAGASCAR
MALAWI
MALI
MAURITANIA
MAURITIUS
MOROCCO
MOZAMBIQUE
NAMIBIA
NIGER
NIGERIA
RWANDA
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
SENEGAL
SEYCHELLES
SIERRA LEONE
SOMALIA
SOUTH AFRICA
SUDAN
SWAZILAND
TANZANIA
TOGO
TUNISIA
UGANDA
ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE

ASIA

AFGHANISTAN
BAHRAIN
BANGLADESH
BHUTAN
BRUNEI
BURMA
CAMBODIA
EAST TIMOR
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
INDONESIA
IRAN
IRAQ
ISRAEL
JAPAN
JORDAN
KUWAIT
LAOS
LEBANON
MACAU SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
MALAYSIA
MALDIVES
MONGOLIA
NEPAL
NORTH KOREA
OMAN
QATAR
SAUDI ARABIA
SINGAPORE
SRI LANKA
SYRIA
TAIWAN
THAILAND
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
YEMEN

(Natives of the following Asian countries do not qualify for this year's diversity program: CHINA - [mainland-born], INDIA, PAKISTAN, SOUTH KOREA, PHILIPPINES, and VIETNAM.) The HONG KONG S.A.R., MACAU S.A.R. and TAIWAN do qualify and are listed above.

EUROPE

ALBANIA
ANDORRA
ARMENIA
AUSTRIA
AZERBAIJAN
BELARUS
BELGIUM
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
BULGARIA
CROATIA
CYPRUS
CZECH REPUBLIC
DENMARK - including components and dependent areas overseas
ESTONIA
FINLAND
FRANCE - including components and dependent areas overseas
GEORGIA
GERMANY
GREECE
HUNGARY
ICELAND
IRELAND
ITALY
KAZAKHSTAN
KYRGYZSTAN
LATVIA
LIECHTENSTEIN
LITHUANIAv LUXEMBOURG
MACEDONIA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF
MALTA
MOLDOVA
MONACO
NETHERLANDS - including components and dependent areas overseas
NORTHERN IRELAND
NORWAY
POLAND
PORTUGAL
ROMANIA
RUSSIA
SAN MARINO
SLOVAKIA
SLOVENIA
SPAIN
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
TAJIKISTAN
TURKEY
TURKMENISTAN
UKRAINE
UZBEKISTAN
VATICAN CITY
YUGOSLAVIA, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF

(Natives of the following European countries do not qualify for this year's diversity program: GREAT BRITAIN. GREAT BRITAIN (UNITED KINGDOM) includes the following dependent areas: ANGUILLA, BERMUDA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, CAYMAN ISLANDS, FALKLAND ISLANDS, GIBRALTAR, MONTSERRAT, PITCAIRN, ST. HELENA, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. Note that for purposes of the diversity program only, Northern Ireland is treated separately; Northern Ireland does qualify and is listed among the qualifying areas.

NORTH AMERICA

BAHAMAS, THE

(In North America, natives of CANADA do not qualify for this year's diversity program.)

OCEANIA

AUSTRALIA - including components and dependent areas overseas
FIJI
KIRIBATI
MARSHALL ISLANDS
MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF
NAURU
NEW ZEALAND - including components and dependent areas overseas
PALAU
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
SAMOA
SOLOMON ISLANDS
TONGA
TUVALU
VANUATU

SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
ARGENTINA
BARBADOS
BELIZE
BOLIVIA
BRAZIL
CHILE
COSTA RICA
CUBA
DOMINICA
ECUADOR
GRENADA
GUATEMALA
GUYANA
HONDURAS
NICARAGUA
PANAMA
PARAGUAY
PERU
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
SAINT LUCIA
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
SURINAME
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
URUGUAY
VENEZUELA

(Countries in this region whose natives do not qualify for this year's diversity program: COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EL SALVADOR, HAITI, JAMAICA, and MEXICO.)