Diversity Lottery 2007 “Winner” Letters Issued

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced in late July 2006, that the Kentucky Consular Center has registered and notified the Diversity Visa Lottery Winners for 2007 (DV-2007). The lottery program allocates immigrant visa numbers to certain countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. The lottery provides 50,000 immigrant visa numbers each year. Individuals who applied for DV-2007, but were not notified that they were selected, did not “win.” There is no notification sent to those who are not selected. Lottery winners are selected at random. For the DV-2007 lottery, there were 5.5 million qualified entries.

Respond Promptly and Carefully

More entrants are selected than there are visa numbers available. Therefore, simply receiving a selection letter does not guarantee a visa. According to the DOS, approximately 82,000 applicants were selected and registered under the DV-2007 lottery. The reason for notifying more than 50,000 people is that some will not follow through with the visa application and others will not qualify. Thus, they notify more individuals to increase the odds of actually issuing the full 50,000 visas. Those who have been notified need to follow the directions in their letters carefully. Entrants who reside outside the United States will need to process via the U.S. consulates abroad. Those who are in the U.S. will either file for adjustment of status or select consular processing. For all applicants, it is necessary to meet procedural requirements for either adjustment of status or consular processing. Those with questions about their filings should contact a qualified immigration attorney.

Winners Must Complete Processing by September 30, 2007

The lottery program always ends on September 30 each year, as that is the final day of the USCIS fiscal year. The DV-2007 program will end on September 30, 2007. This means that applicants and their qualifying family members must complete the adjustment of status or consular processing procedures no later than September 30, 2007, in order to obtain the benefit of the lottery selection for DV-2007. While the lottery is a viable option for many, no one should depend upon the lottery until they receive their final green card approval. It is best to continue to explore and pursue other immigration options while the lottery case is pending.

Another DV Case can be Filed in the Future

Those who were not selected can always try for the next lottery year, DV-2008. Information on that will be available in August 2006.

Conclusion

There may be complications related to one’s intention to immigrate when applying for the B-2 tourist visa after having submitted a lottery application, even if the submission is not selected. We, therefore, always recommend consulting with an experienced immigration attorney to understand the legal and practical considerations, as well as any ramifications, when submitting a diversity visa application for the green card lottery.