Archives of the Mayor's Press Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Monday, July 31, 2000
Release #296-00
| Contact: |
Sunny Mindel/Lynn Rasic (212) 788-2958 |
| |
Deborah Wetzel/Kevin Ortiz, DCA (212) 487-4283 |
| |
Madeleine Tress, Immigrant Affairs (212) 788-7654 |
MAYOR GIULIANI URGES IMMIGRANTS TO PREPARE FOR THE
VISA LOTTERY
To Protect Candidates from Fraud,
City Offers Fraud Hotline and
Multilingual Brochures
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced that the entry period for the Federal
Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Program (DV-2002) begins October 2, 2000 and
runs through November 1, 2000. The Mayor urged prospective visa lottery entrants
to obtain information on how to apply from the New York City Department
of Consumer Affairs and the Mayor's Office of Immigrant
Affairs.
"New Yorkers understand the value of immigration and the importance of the DV-2002
Visa Lottery, which will give 50,000 people the opportunity to become permanent
residents and to continue making contributions to this country," Mayor Giuliani
said. "The millions of immigrants who made a commitment to this country and who
made New York City their home, have helped fuel the growth of New York and make
it the most energetic and culturally diverse city in the world."
The U.S. State Department will award 50,000 permanent resident visas nationwide
through its seventh annual Diversity Visa Lottery. The lottery program was established
by the Immigration Act of 1990 to help expand the number of countries from which
new immigrants to the United States originate. Random selection in the Visa Lottery
does not guarantee that the "lottery winner" will receive a permanent resident
visa, but it does make the winner eligible to apply for a green card.
Mayor Giuliani also announced that the Department of Consumer Affairs will conduct
an educational outreach campaign to steer prospective lottery participants away
from the fraudulent practices of unscrupulous immigration service providers.
"It is important for prospective applicants to know that while no one can do anything
to increase their chances of being selected in the lottery, the City of New York
will make sure that people have access to the critical information they need to
properly enter the Visa Lottery," the Mayor added.
Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jane Hoffman said, "The Visa Lottery offers immigrants
the opportunity to realize their dream of becoming permanent residents of the
United States. Unfortunately, fraudulent immigrant service providers see the opportunity
to make false promises to immigrants and charge thousands of dollars for unnecessary
services. Participants need to remember that the lottery is absolutely free."
According to the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs and Language Services, entering
the visa lottery program is simple, but every year a high rate of entries are
disqualified because many participants do not follow directions properly. In addition
to providing the most up-to-date and accurate information about the lottery, the
Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs and Language Services assists New York participants
who might have additional immigration concerns. Individuals may contact the Mayor's
Office of Immigrant Affairs and Language Services, or reliable immigration service
providers, such as the New York Immigration Hotline for more information and advice.
The rules for the free lottery are simple. Visa Lottery entrants must furnish
a recent 11/2" X 11/2" photograph (taken within the past 6 months), with their
name printed on the back and taped to their lottery entries. The following rules
and restrictions also govern the lottery.
- Entrants must have a high school education (or its equivalent-not a GED)
or two years of experience in an occupation requiring two years of training,
with that experience being attained within the past five years.
- Each entrant can submit only one entry. More than one entry will result in
automatic disqualification. The entrant's spouse may submit a separate entry,
if the spouse meets all of the requirements for the Visa Lottery.
- Entries should be made by mail only. They must arrive between noon Monday,
October 2nd and noon Wednesday, November 1st. Any entries arriving before or
after will be discarded. Also, entries sent by registered or certified mail
will be refused.
- Entries for DV-2002 should not be sent to the National Visa Center in
Portsmouth, NH. Entries for DV-2002 sent to the National Visa Center address
will not be accepted and will be disqualified. Entries should be sent to the
Kentucky Consular Center in Lexington, KY.
- The Visa Lottery will be open to anyone abroad or in the United States except
for natives of Canada, China (except Hong Kong), Colombia, the Dominican Republic,
El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Philippines, Pakistan, South Korea,
United Kingdom and its dependent territories (except Northern Ireland) and Vietnam.
Some people from excluded countries may be eligible, if their spouses are from
an eligible country and meet all of the requirements of the Visa Lottery.
Prospective lottery entrants can consult the following for assistance:
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
(202) 331-7199
http://travel.state.gov
NEW YORK IMMIGRATION HOTLINE
(718) 899-4000
U.S. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE
(800) 375-5283
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and the Mayor's
Office of Immigrant Affairs and Language Services have issued a special publication
to explain the rules and restrictions of the upcoming Visa Lottery. A Consumer
Guide to the Fall 2000 "DV-2002" Permanent-Resident Visa Lottery brochure
is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, French, and Russian. They
also published Beware of Immigration Services Fraud, a brochure available
in the same six languages, plus Haitian Creole, Italian and Korean. To get a
free copy of the guides, send a self-addressed envelope to:
New York City Department of Consumer Affairs
42 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
Attn: Visa Lottery
(Please specify the language in which you wish to receive the material)
This information can also be obtained (in English only) by visiting the DCA
website at www.nyc.gov/consumers.
Consumers who believe they are victims of fraud concerning the green card lottery
program are urged to contact the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs at 42 Broadway,
New York, NY 10004 (by mail only); the National Fraud Information Center at
(800) 876-7060 or (202) 835-0159; or the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at (877)
382-4357.
www.nyc.gov
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