Increase in the Entries for DV-2011 Program
The Department of State (DOS) conducts the Diversity Visa Program (DV,) an annual lottery program for issuing US permanent resident card. It selects 55,000 immigrants randomly from applications received from applicants belonging to eligible nations. Natives from certain nations are not eligible for immigration to the US through the Diversity Visa Program. This is because more than 50,000 persons would have immigrated to the USA in the last five years from those countries.
Applicants from Brazil, Canada, China (Mainland-Born,) Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam are ineligible for the DV program.
USA Immigration laws govern the Diversity Visa Program and it is conducted under strict terms of the Immigration and Nationality Act. DOS grants permanent resident visas to applicants from countries, which have low immigration rates to the USA. The term adiversity immigrantsa is used for those applicants who immigrate to the USA though the Diversity Visa Program. However, before applying, there are certain criteria to be met by these applicants. They should have completed at least a high school diploma or an equivalent. Else, they should have work experience of two years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training.
The DV-2011 Program began on October 2, 2009.. Entries were invited from applicants who belong to nations that are eligible for this lottery. Submission of entries closed on November 30. An increase in the number of entries for this program was observed this year, in comparison with the previous year. Over 900,000 applications were received in the very first week of registration, a 63% increase from last year's entries in the same period. The DOS expects to receive nearly 13,000,000 entries for the DV-2011 Program.
After applicants have been chosen for the DV-2011 program, they will receive a notification of their selection through mail between May and July, 2010. The Immigrant Visa application process shall commence in October 2010 and the last date for visa issuance is September 30, 2011.
