Poslka Rosja American Unia Obama Dr hab. Mieczyslaw Ryba
Światowy ład w wizji amerykańskich Demokratów
Dr hab. Mieczysław Ryba
Zbigniew Brzeziński, amerykański politolog, były doradca prezydenta Cartera, stara się pokazać główne wyzwania amerykańskiej polityki zagranicznej po objęciu prezydentury przez Baracka Obamę. Słowa Brzezińskiego mają wyjątkowe znaczenie z tego powodu, że od lat był on związany z Partią Demokratyczną i wywierał znaczny wpływ na kierunki amerykańskiej polityki lansowanej przez ten obóz polityczny. Dziś Brzeziński postuluje powrót USA do sposobu uprawiania polityki z czasów prezydentury Billa Clintona. Co to oznacza dla świata i dla Polski?
Wprawdzie Brzeziński gani Francję i Niemcy za ich postawę w czasie wojny irackiej, jednakże postuluje potrzebę ponownego porozumienia. Apeluje o "przywrócenie poczucia wspólnego celu Ameryki i Europy (a konkretniej USA i Unii Europejskiej), a także wspólnego celu państw zrzeszonych w NATO". Brzeziński nie pozostawia złudzeń, co rozumie pod pojęciem "Unia Europejska". Oczywiście nie chodzi mu o wejście w jakiś większy związek z państwami mniejszymi, lecz dużymi, tymi, które budują współczesne superpaństwo europejskie. Twierdzi wręcz, że brak pełnej instytucjonalnej jedności europejskiej może utrudniać Amerykanom rzeczowy dialog transatlantycki. Można by zatem wnioskować, iż Stany Zjednoczone pod nowym kierownictwem chciałyby po prostu wesprzeć ideę przyspieszonej europejskiej integracji, zmierzającej do ujednolicenia polityki zagranicznej. Dodajmy, że w tym właśnie kierunku idzie traktat lizboński. Wielu komentatorów zauważyło, że referendum irlandzkie m.in. dlatego zakończyło się klęską europejskich federalistów, iż w sposób nieformalny eurosceptyków wsparły środowiska amerykańskie. Jasna deklaracja poparcia przez Waszyngton budowy superpaństwa w Europie z pewnością ułatwiłaby unioentuzjastom realizację ich centralistycznych celów. Brzeziński w wywiadzie dla "Wprost" (4-11.01.2009) mówi, że na chwilę obecną chodzi o dialog między USA a trzema europejskimi państwami: Wielką Brytanią, Niemcami oraz Francją. O ile Wielka Brytania jest niejako tradycyjnie reprezentantką interesów Ameryki w Europie, o tyle Francja i Niemcy są głównymi motorami napędowymi europejskiej integracji, które miałyby przejąć realne rządy w nowo powstającym sfederowanym państwie europejskim. Brzeziński oczekuje, iż kraje te zbudują wspólną politykę zagraniczną. Czytamy: "Kiedy już europejska triada ustali wspólny cel strategiczny, Ameryka będzie słuchać. A Stany Zjednoczone wraz z Unią Europejską, wytwarzając w sumie ponad połowę światowego PKB, będą dysponowały olbrzymią potęgą, pozwalającą wpływać na sytuację na świecie w sposób odpowiedzialny i wywoływać pozytywne zmiany". Taki układ miałby być podstawą do "globalnego zarządzania". Oczywiście owo globalne zarządzanie wymaga uczestnictwa przynajmniej jeszcze kilku światowych graczy w Eurazji, tj. Chin, Rosji, Japonii oraz Indii.
Ważne słowa Brzezińskiego dotyczą Rosji: "Zaangażowanie Rosji leży w interesie Stanów Zjednoczonych i państw europejskich ze względu na ogólniejsze zamierzenia strategiczne, a także z powodu bardziej lokalnych, europejskich problemów geopolitycznych". Brzeziński krytykuje nierozliczenie się Rosjan z komunizmem, ale wyraża jednocześnie nadzieję, że ostatnie trudne rosyjskie doświadczenia gospodarcze mogą ten kraj wiele nauczyć.
Jeśli weźmiemy pod uwagę słowa Zbigniewa Brzezińskiego jako reprezentatywne dla środowiska otaczającego Baracka Obamę, to śmiało można potwierdzić, że szykuje nam się rzeczywisty powrót USA do polityki czasów Billa Clintona. W polityce tej w Eurazji naczelną rolę odgrywała Unia Europejska, a w Unii Niemcy. Polska wpisana była w kontekst polityki niemieckiej, którą Brzeziński w "Wielkiej szachownicy" określił mianem nowego projektu budowy Mitteleuropy. Stosunek amerykańskiego politologa do Rosji potwierdza moje niedawne analizy dotyczące perspektywy strategicznego porozumienia Waszyngtonu z Moskwą. Napięcia, jakie się pojawiły w ostatnim czasie (m.in. wojna w Gruzji), miałyby zostać usunięte, szczególnie w sytuacji, gdy Rosja odczuła dziś mocną zależność od gospodarki globalnej (kryzys finansowy), sterowanej w dużej mierze z Wall Street. Rosja jest potrzebna Stanom Zjednoczonym do bilansowania siły Chin oraz Iranu, tak więc ostatnie zmagania amerykańsko-rosyjskie można by raczej nazwać mianem określania granic wpływów, a nie strategicznego konfliktu dwóch mocarstw. W tej sytuacji polskie marzenia o wyrwaniu z rąk rosyjskich kolejnych państw posowieckich (Ukraina, Białoruś, Gruzja itp.) przy wykorzystaniu poparcia USA mogą się okazać wielką mrzonką. Opieranie zaś polskiej polityki zagranicznej na mrzonkach jest nie tylko stratą cennego czasu, lecz nieroztropnością narażającą nas na kolejne niepotrzebne konflikty w sytuacji, gdy trzeba się samemu wzmacniać gospodarczo i politycznie, i to w sposób przyspieszony. Tymczasem nie chodzi tylko o pozytywny dziś stosunek USA do układu Paryż - Berlin - Moskwa, co na podstawie powyższych konstatacji można uznać za rzecz bardzo prawdopodobną, lecz o amerykańską wizję miejsca środkowej Europy w Unii Europejskiej. Wizyta Baracka Obamy w Berlinie w trakcie prezydenckiej kampanii i pominięcie Warszawy powinny nam wiele mówić. Brak wsparcia amerykańskiego dla ratowania wypłukiwanej suwerenności Europy Środkowej może być w zmaganiach wewnątrzunijnych rozstrzygający. Polityka polska powinna więc bardzo szybko szukać wewnątrzeuropejskich koalicji, dzięki którym można by przetrwać okres dekoniunktury w stosunkach międzynarodowych. Możemy wszak mieć w niedługim czasie do czynienia ze znaczącym obniżeniem pozycji Polski w Europie i świecie. Zatem obrona suwerenności powinna przede wszystkim dotyczyć traktatu lizbońskiego i jego politycznych skutków. Prezydencja czeska, przy bardzo rozsądnej postawie Vaclawa Klausa, jest pewną szansą na zbliżenie się Polski do południowego sąsiada i nakreślenie strategii wspólnych działań defensywnych. Powtórzę to jeszcze raz: w tej chwili jest nam o wiele bardziej potrzebna solidarność środkowoeuropejska wewnątrz Unii niż z krajami posowieckimi. Ze względu na nasze współczesne (!) geopolityczne położenie między Bugiem a Odrą i Nysą Łużycką większe wyzwania (czytaj: uzależnienia) czekają nas z kierunku brukselskiego niż z kierunku wschodniego. Nie zapominajmy, że jesteśmy dziś członkiem Unii Europejskiej, a nie Wspólnoty Niepodległych Państw.
Oczywiście można zbagatelizować słowa Zbigniewa Brzezińskiego. Można uznać, że jego wpływ na amerykańską politykę jest żaden. Oby się jednak w niedługim czasie nie okazało, iż przeżywać będziemy potężne rozczarowanie, wciąż zapatrzeni we wschodnie projekty i coraz bardziej przerażeni naszą marginalizacją w Unii Europejskiej.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Polish protesters beat up in an official ceremony with Israeli Ambassador David Peleg protesters arrested.
Polish protesters beat up in an official ceremony with Israeli Ambassador David Peleg protesters arrested.
In the news video (in Polish - sorry), you will see a small group protesters, standing near the wall, not bothering anybody, holding a large sign that reads
"Stop the butchery in Gaza"
You will see a man in a yarmulka get up from his chair, walk all the way across the room, and start to swing punches at the surprised protesters.
Poland is a civilized country, after all, and while things like that happen, they tend to at soccer matches between hooligans, not in an official function with an Israeli ambassador with lots of cameras present.
This is not Israel where women are stoned by fanatical Orthodox Jews for wearing red color clothes (MSNBC article).
It looks like it is OK to beat up a woman with your manly, macho fists if the woman is palestinian.
To skandal. Zatrzymano ludzi pobitych, a nie udało się ustalić tożsamości tego, kto ich pobił, choć wyraźnie widać go na filmie a na dodatek był jednym z zaproszonych gości (wystarczy sprawdzić listę zaproszonych żeby się dowiedzieć kto to był). Nasza policja jest najbardziej absurdalną i niedołężną policją świata.
In the news video (in Polish - sorry), you will see a small group protesters, standing near the wall, not bothering anybody, holding a large sign that reads
"Stop the butchery in Gaza"
You will see a man in a yarmulka get up from his chair, walk all the way across the room, and start to swing punches at the surprised protesters.
Poland is a civilized country, after all, and while things like that happen, they tend to at soccer matches between hooligans, not in an official function with an Israeli ambassador with lots of cameras present.
This is not Israel where women are stoned by fanatical Orthodox Jews for wearing red color clothes (MSNBC article).
It looks like it is OK to beat up a woman with your manly, macho fists if the woman is palestinian.
To skandal. Zatrzymano ludzi pobitych, a nie udało się ustalić tożsamości tego, kto ich pobił, choć wyraźnie widać go na filmie a na dodatek był jednym z zaproszonych gości (wystarczy sprawdzić listę zaproszonych żeby się dowiedzieć kto to był). Nasza policja jest najbardziej absurdalną i niedołężną policją świata.
Gaza is the Warsaw Ghetto - George Galloway - 2 Jan 09
Gaza is the Warsaw Ghetto - George Galloway - 2 Jan 09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrK90LvqbRk
The West has DOUBLE STANDARDS when it comes to Israel. George Galloway
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrK90LvqbRk
The West has DOUBLE STANDARDS when it comes to Israel. George Galloway
Monday, January 12, 2009
Israel to Get $30bn US Defense Aid We need jobs not another WAR!
Israel to Get $30bn US Defense Aid We need jobs not another WAR!
RAMALLAH/GAZA CITY, 30 July 2007 — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday announced a new $30 billion US defense aid package to preserve Israel’s regional military superiority, as he appreciated Washington’s wishes to boost moderate Arab states through weapons sales.
“This is an increase of 25 percent for the military aid to Israel from the United States. I think this is a significant and important increase in defense aid to Israel,” Olmert said at the opening of the weekly Israeli Cabinet meeting.
Olmert added that the aid package was offered during his meeting with US President George W. Bush in Washington on June 20.
“This would mean a lot to Israel’s security, and this is a good opportunity to thank President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,” Olmert said.
Other Israeli ministers stressed during the Cabinet meeting Israel’s need to secure its “quality advantage” over its neighbors in the Mideast and the US’ major role in maintaining this advantage.
“Defense aid to Israel is still a top priority for the United States,” Olmert told the Cabinet, adding that Israel enjoys more financial assistance than other countries in the Middle East.
“We have renewed agreements and a renewed commitment from the Americans that would help preserve our advantage over the Arab countries,” Olmert said, referring to reports by the New York Times and the Washington Post that the US is mulling a $20 billion arms deal with Gulf states and increasing military aid to Egypt to $13 billion over 10 years.
The deal with Gulf states includes advanced satellite-guided bombs, upgrades to their fighter jets and new naval vessels. It has reportedly raised concerns in Israel and among its supporters in the Congress. However, Olmert said that Israel fully understood the US’ need to support the moderate states in the region.
“We understand the US’ need to assist the moderate Arab states, which are standing in one front with the United States and us in the struggle against Iran,” Olmert said, referring to its nuclear program.
Israeli security officials called the increase in military aid “an unusual achievement.”
According to Israeli diplomatic sources, the final details about the new aid package to the Jewish state will be worked out during the visit by US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns to the region, adding that his visit is slated for mid-August.
US defense aid to Israel began in 1973 but a regular 10-year aid plan — with the previous one expiring this summer — was institutionalized in 1977 as part of the Egypt-Israel peace agreement, the official said.
The military aid is made up of 75 percent US military hardware, ranging from ammunition to warplanes, with the other 25 percent in cash, which goes mainly toward securing new Israeli-made weapons.
Support Our Allies - They Support Us?
"...For Your Freedom and Ours..."
Gen. T. Kosciuszko (Poland and America's Patriot)
POLAND IS GETTING ONLY 25-40 $ MILLIONS per year
- Poland sent combat troops to Iraq, Afghanistan , Kosovo, Panama, Haiti, Polish Army's Peacekeepers in Golan Heights, Americans during the war.
- Polish troops are responsible for security in 1 of the 4 zones in Iraq
- 20,000 soldiers from 17 countries served under Polish command
Poland sent its elite commando unit, GROM, which means thunder. It helped secure the port at Umm Qasr, which was vital to delivering aid to Iraq. The unit also secured nearby oil platforms before they could be sabotaged.
In the first Gulf War, Polish intelligence officers snuck into Iraq to rescue a group of CIA operatives trapped behind enemy lines.
Poland's secret agents disguised CIA agents as Polish construction workers and smuggled them out of Baghdad.
This was not the first time Polish soldiers risked their lives for our freedom. Generals Casimir Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko were two of the first foreigners to fight in the American Revolution. Kosciuszko designed and oversaw the construction of West Point. After that, he returned to Poland, where he led a democratic uprising. As a result of that fight, Poland had the first written democratic constitution in Europe, second in the world only to the U.S.
USA DEPORTED POLISH WOMAN IN US SINCE 1989 PERFECT CITIZEN FORMER SOLIDARITY, PERFECT MOTHER, NO CRIMES
I have to bring to your attention. What kind of:
How autocratic our Homeland Security in US is.
New US military aid to Israel and the Lieberman-Kyl amendment bring the US closer to war with Iran, say Greens
GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org
For Immediate Release:
Monday, October 8, 2007
Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
Greens: Bush has no credibility on Iran, but Democrats and Republicans are lining up behind Bush's next military disaster
WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders strongly cautioned that the combination of a $30 billion military aid package for Israel and growing threat of a US or US-backed Israeli attack on Iran could trigger a major regional conflagration in the Middle East.
"There's little doubt that the $30 billion in US taxpayers money sent to Israel will be used for two things: to maintain Israel's illegal and murderous military occupation of Palestinian lands, and to prepare for a military assault on Iran," said Paul "zool" Zulkowitz, a member of the Green Party's Peace Action Committee (GPAX). "The new military aid for Israel and the Lieberman-Kyl amendment, passed on September 26 with strong bipartisan support, have brought the the US closer to war with Iran."
Greens stressed that White House claims that Iran is assisting Shiite militias in Iraq and plans to produce nuclear weapons for possible use against Israel or western nations have been contested. Iran has denied such intentions; Greens noted that such use would amount to suicide for Iran.
"The Bush Administration, after its deceptive rationales for invading Iraq, should have no credibility on Iran or any other foreign policy," said Justine McCabe, Connecticut Green and co-chair of the party's International Committee. "Unfortunately, Democrats -- especially presidential candidates like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- have signed on to the AIPAC-Neocon-Republican line that an attack on Iran is 'not off the table.' If a global war starts because Bush ordered an attack, it'll be a bipartisan disaster, like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the continuing Middle East crisis."
In one scenario, confirmed by Newsweek, Vice President Cheney considered asking Israel to launch a missile attack either on a nuclear power site in Natanz, Iran, or on an alleged Syrian-Iranian-North Korean nuclear installation in northern Syria, which might result in a retaliatory strike that would motivate a larger US military assault on Iran. Israel has already launched an air strike on the suspected Syrian site in September.
"The Lieberman-Kyl amendment designates Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a 'foreign terrorist organization.' The amendment makes the Iran military a target in President Bush's 'war on terror.' This is a major step towards a military confrontation with Iran, whether the attack comes from the US or Israel or both," said John V. Walsh, delegate from the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party to the Green Party's National Committee.
The Green Party has called for an international effort towards nuclear disarmament of all Middle Eastern and western Asian nations, including Israel and Pakistan, which are known to possess nuclear weapons, as part of a greater global nuclear disarmament project. Greens have called the Bush Administration hypocritical for condemning Iran while expanding US nuclear weapons programs and after removing the US from antinuclear treaties. The party has called for the US to rejoin the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and eliminate American nuclear weapons. Greens have also accused the Bush Administration of squandering pro-US sentiment that exists among many Iranians in its attempt to vilify their country.
The Green Party has sharply criticized both Democrats and Republicans for maintaining support for Israel's six-decades-long violations of civilian human rights and bowing to the demands of AIPAC and certain Christian rightwing lobbies that the US endorse the Israeli government's military ambitions and ethnic policies. (Israel has placed the Gaza Strip under siege and threatens to cut off water and fuel supplies, to punish civilians over rocket attacks launched by militias.)
The Green Party calls for negotiation by both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; a cut-off in US military aid to Israel; and an economic boycott of Israel until the latter recognizes full human rights, including the right of return for Palestinians and abolition of internal apartheid laws. Greens have called for support for Israeli and Palestinian groups seeking peaceful resolution, observance of human rights, and a halt to all violence and coercion directed against civilians.
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
RAMALLAH/GAZA CITY, 30 July 2007 — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday announced a new $30 billion US defense aid package to preserve Israel’s regional military superiority, as he appreciated Washington’s wishes to boost moderate Arab states through weapons sales.
“This is an increase of 25 percent for the military aid to Israel from the United States. I think this is a significant and important increase in defense aid to Israel,” Olmert said at the opening of the weekly Israeli Cabinet meeting.
Olmert added that the aid package was offered during his meeting with US President George W. Bush in Washington on June 20.
“This would mean a lot to Israel’s security, and this is a good opportunity to thank President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,” Olmert said.
Other Israeli ministers stressed during the Cabinet meeting Israel’s need to secure its “quality advantage” over its neighbors in the Mideast and the US’ major role in maintaining this advantage.
“Defense aid to Israel is still a top priority for the United States,” Olmert told the Cabinet, adding that Israel enjoys more financial assistance than other countries in the Middle East.
“We have renewed agreements and a renewed commitment from the Americans that would help preserve our advantage over the Arab countries,” Olmert said, referring to reports by the New York Times and the Washington Post that the US is mulling a $20 billion arms deal with Gulf states and increasing military aid to Egypt to $13 billion over 10 years.
The deal with Gulf states includes advanced satellite-guided bombs, upgrades to their fighter jets and new naval vessels. It has reportedly raised concerns in Israel and among its supporters in the Congress. However, Olmert said that Israel fully understood the US’ need to support the moderate states in the region.
“We understand the US’ need to assist the moderate Arab states, which are standing in one front with the United States and us in the struggle against Iran,” Olmert said, referring to its nuclear program.
Israeli security officials called the increase in military aid “an unusual achievement.”
According to Israeli diplomatic sources, the final details about the new aid package to the Jewish state will be worked out during the visit by US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns to the region, adding that his visit is slated for mid-August.
US defense aid to Israel began in 1973 but a regular 10-year aid plan — with the previous one expiring this summer — was institutionalized in 1977 as part of the Egypt-Israel peace agreement, the official said.
The military aid is made up of 75 percent US military hardware, ranging from ammunition to warplanes, with the other 25 percent in cash, which goes mainly toward securing new Israeli-made weapons.
Support Our Allies - They Support Us?
"...For Your Freedom and Ours..."
Gen. T. Kosciuszko (Poland and America's Patriot)
POLAND IS GETTING ONLY 25-40 $ MILLIONS per year
- Poland sent combat troops to Iraq, Afghanistan , Kosovo, Panama, Haiti, Polish Army's Peacekeepers in Golan Heights, Americans during the war.
- Polish troops are responsible for security in 1 of the 4 zones in Iraq
- 20,000 soldiers from 17 countries served under Polish command
Poland sent its elite commando unit, GROM, which means thunder. It helped secure the port at Umm Qasr, which was vital to delivering aid to Iraq. The unit also secured nearby oil platforms before they could be sabotaged.
In the first Gulf War, Polish intelligence officers snuck into Iraq to rescue a group of CIA operatives trapped behind enemy lines.
Poland's secret agents disguised CIA agents as Polish construction workers and smuggled them out of Baghdad.
This was not the first time Polish soldiers risked their lives for our freedom. Generals Casimir Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko were two of the first foreigners to fight in the American Revolution. Kosciuszko designed and oversaw the construction of West Point. After that, he returned to Poland, where he led a democratic uprising. As a result of that fight, Poland had the first written democratic constitution in Europe, second in the world only to the U.S.
USA DEPORTED POLISH WOMAN IN US SINCE 1989 PERFECT CITIZEN FORMER SOLIDARITY, PERFECT MOTHER, NO CRIMES
I have to bring to your attention. What kind of:
How autocratic our Homeland Security in US is.
New US military aid to Israel and the Lieberman-Kyl amendment bring the US closer to war with Iran, say Greens
GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org
For Immediate Release:
Monday, October 8, 2007
Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
Greens: Bush has no credibility on Iran, but Democrats and Republicans are lining up behind Bush's next military disaster
WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders strongly cautioned that the combination of a $30 billion military aid package for Israel and growing threat of a US or US-backed Israeli attack on Iran could trigger a major regional conflagration in the Middle East.
"There's little doubt that the $30 billion in US taxpayers money sent to Israel will be used for two things: to maintain Israel's illegal and murderous military occupation of Palestinian lands, and to prepare for a military assault on Iran," said Paul "zool" Zulkowitz, a member of the Green Party's Peace Action Committee (GPAX). "The new military aid for Israel and the Lieberman-Kyl amendment, passed on September 26 with strong bipartisan support, have brought the the US closer to war with Iran."
Greens stressed that White House claims that Iran is assisting Shiite militias in Iraq and plans to produce nuclear weapons for possible use against Israel or western nations have been contested. Iran has denied such intentions; Greens noted that such use would amount to suicide for Iran.
"The Bush Administration, after its deceptive rationales for invading Iraq, should have no credibility on Iran or any other foreign policy," said Justine McCabe, Connecticut Green and co-chair of the party's International Committee. "Unfortunately, Democrats -- especially presidential candidates like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- have signed on to the AIPAC-Neocon-Republican line that an attack on Iran is 'not off the table.' If a global war starts because Bush ordered an attack, it'll be a bipartisan disaster, like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the continuing Middle East crisis."
In one scenario, confirmed by Newsweek, Vice President Cheney considered asking Israel to launch a missile attack either on a nuclear power site in Natanz, Iran, or on an alleged Syrian-Iranian-North Korean nuclear installation in northern Syria, which might result in a retaliatory strike that would motivate a larger US military assault on Iran. Israel has already launched an air strike on the suspected Syrian site in September.
"The Lieberman-Kyl amendment designates Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a 'foreign terrorist organization.' The amendment makes the Iran military a target in President Bush's 'war on terror.' This is a major step towards a military confrontation with Iran, whether the attack comes from the US or Israel or both," said John V. Walsh, delegate from the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party to the Green Party's National Committee.
The Green Party has called for an international effort towards nuclear disarmament of all Middle Eastern and western Asian nations, including Israel and Pakistan, which are known to possess nuclear weapons, as part of a greater global nuclear disarmament project. Greens have called the Bush Administration hypocritical for condemning Iran while expanding US nuclear weapons programs and after removing the US from antinuclear treaties. The party has called for the US to rejoin the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and eliminate American nuclear weapons. Greens have also accused the Bush Administration of squandering pro-US sentiment that exists among many Iranians in its attempt to vilify their country.
The Green Party has sharply criticized both Democrats and Republicans for maintaining support for Israel's six-decades-long violations of civilian human rights and bowing to the demands of AIPAC and certain Christian rightwing lobbies that the US endorse the Israeli government's military ambitions and ethnic policies. (Israel has placed the Gaza Strip under siege and threatens to cut off water and fuel supplies, to punish civilians over rocket attacks launched by militias.)
The Green Party calls for negotiation by both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; a cut-off in US military aid to Israel; and an economic boycott of Israel until the latter recognizes full human rights, including the right of return for Palestinians and abolition of internal apartheid laws. Greens have called for support for Israeli and Palestinian groups seeking peaceful resolution, observance of human rights, and a halt to all violence and coercion directed against civilians.
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Friday, January 9, 2009
Wojna w Strefie Gazy Gaza Reality Occupation
Wojna w Strefie Gazy Gaza Reality Occupation
Wojna w Strefie Gazy
Hussan Elhassan (2009-01-09)
Aktualności dnia
słuchajzapisz
Gaza's Reality Occupation 101 Movie Clip)
Wojna w Strefie Gazy
Hussan Elhassan (2009-01-09)
Aktualności dnia
słuchajzapisz
Wojna w Strefie Gazy
Hussan Elhassan (2009-01-09)
Aktualności dnia
słuchajzapisz
Gaza's Reality Occupation 101 Movie Clip)
Wojna w Strefie Gazy
Hussan Elhassan (2009-01-09)
Aktualności dnia
słuchajzapisz
Monday, January 5, 2009
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Plese wake up
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Plese wake up
Obama Please wake up
Polish Americans wake up
Gaza's Reality (Occupation 101 Movie Clip)
Obama Please wake up
Polish Americans wake up
Gaza's Reality (Occupation 101 Movie Clip)
Warsaw 1942 Getho Palestine Gaza 2009 must see and do something
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The Warsaw Uprising 1944 / Powstanie Warszawskie
The Warsaw Ghetto
"The Warsaw Ghetto"
POLISH MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
PRINTED AS A PRESS BULLETIN
Extermination of the Polish Jewry "What Happened in the Warsaw Ghetto"
London – Tuesday 1st December 1942 – No 57
The Polish Government has recently received from Poland the following on the measures taken by the German authorities to exterminate the population of the ghetto.
The Origin of the Warsaw Ghetto:
The German authorities created the Warsaw ghetto in October 1940. All the Jews in the city were ordered to transfer to the Jewish quarter assigned to them by 1 November 1940, while all the Aryans were ordered to remove elsewhere out of this quarter.
The Jews were allowed to take only personal articles with them, and were forbidden to take their furniture, though in practice this rule was not strictly observed. All the Jewish shops and businesses in the Aryan areas of the city were closed down and sealed.
The original terminal date for the transfer was postponed to 15 November 1940, after which Jews were not allowed to leave the ghetto. But Aryans were allowed to enter without passes down to 25 November 1940. After that the ghetto was completely closed, the entire area was surrounded by a wall and the right of entry and exit was granted only to the holders of passes issued by a special German office.
One entrance to the Warsaw ghetto
Anyone leaving the ghetto without a pass became liable to the death sentence, and the German courts have passed such sentences in a large number of cases. Even after the ghetto was closed a large number of commercial and industrial enterprises owned by Aryans were left within the walls.
All the trading and commercial businesses were transferred outside the walls by the spring of 1941, but Aryan industrial enterprises were left inside and gave employment to both Aryans and Jews.
Life in the Ghetto
After the sealing of the ghetto official intercourse with the outside world was maintained through a special German department, the Transferstelle.
In the spring of 1942 at a period when relations between the ghetto and the rest of Warsaw had been systemized, trade between the two parts of the city averaged a sum of 13 groshe daily per head of the ghetto population
At this same period a kilogramme (2 ¼ lbs) of bread cost over ten zlotys and a kilogramme of potatoes some five zlotys. From the earliest days of the ghetto commerce with the outside world was based chiefly on smuggling, which was carried on, on a large scale.
The Germans themselves participated in this violation of their own prescriptions, drawing large incomes from trading profits and bribes. In economic terms this illegal trade consisted of the selling up of Jewish property and possessions in exchange for food.
Jews wait to receive food coupons at a welfare office located at 14 Mranowska St.
The ghetto depended on smuggling for its food supplies, as the amount supplied on the ration cards was much lower even than that allowed to Poles, and was quite inadequate to maintain life.
It amounted to about half a kilogramme of bread per person weekly, and hardly anything to else. As time went on large workshops were organised for Jews to work on German orders. But smuggling remained the chief form of trade with the outside and when it came to an end during the period of “liquidation” of the ghetto the disparity between prices in the Jewish quarter and outside became even greater.
Bread inside the ghetto cost 60 to 85 zlotys a kilogramme, outside it was 8 to 12 zlotys, sugar was 400 to 450 zlotys a kilogramme inside and 35 to 70 zlotys outside, potatoes were 16 to 30 zlotys a kilogramme inside, and 3.50 zlotys outside.
The mortality rate inside the ghetto rose steadily month after month. This was due not only to the terrible need of the people, but to the harsh winters of 1940/41 and 1941/42, epidemics of spotted typhus, typhoid and tuberculosis.
Every day dozens of bodies were found in the streets – in 1941 the mortality amounted to some 13 percent of the total population, and during the first quarter of 1942 it amounted to over 15 percent, per annum. On the other hand, the birth rate fell almost to nothing.
None the less the population of the Warsaw ghetto remained almost stable throughout all the period of its existence. Officially it was about 433,000, but in fact it fell to 370,000. The reason is that more Jews were continually being driven into the ghetto from other countries such as Germany and Holand as well as from various smaller towns and places around Warsaw.
The Strengthening of Anti- Jewish Measures
A Jew stopped by German police in the ghetto
The occupying authorities continually resorted to various forms of terror steadily growing in violence and accounting for dozens of victims inside the ghetto every day, apart from the daily executions carried out beyond its confines.
Armed and uniformed Germans would pour into a house at night, drag out those destined as victims and kill them in the street. Adult Jews found outside the ghetto walls were shot on the spot, while children were drowned in clay pits or thrown into the towns canals.
After the outbreak of war between Germany and the Soviet Union and the German occupation of the Eastern areas of Poland, in July 1941, news began to arrive of mass machine-gunning of Jews in the more easterly towns and local centres.
At first the stories were hardly to be believed, but they were confirmed again and again by eyewitnesses. In the winter and early spring of 1942 these mass murders of tens of thousands of Jews grew more and more systematic.
Burying the dead in the Warsaw Ghetto
Throughout the whole of the Vilno province only one centre of Jewish life was left in the city of Vilno itself, where some 12,000 Jews remained. In the city of Vilno over 50,000 Jews were murdered, in Rowne 14,000 in Lwow 50 percent of the Jewish population, and in Kowel 10,000.
Later similar reports were received from Stanislawow, Tarnopol, Stiryj and dozens of other smaller towns. It became obvious that the terror was moving westward from the eastern borders, while in the extreme west, in Poland’s “incorporated” western provinces, Jews had already been completely eliminated, only specialist craftsmen working for the German army being left, herded in isolated barracks.
New methods of extermination were being applied. The use of poison gas was resorted to for ten thousand people in Chelm. A camp was organised at Belzec for the special purpose of execution by electrocution and here in the course of about a month, in March and April 1942 80,000 Jews from the Lublin, Lwow and part of the Kielce provinces were executed.
Out of Lublin’s 30,000 Jews only 2,500 were left, 70 of these being women. Auxiliary to the main work of extermination the Jews were being deported from the smaller centres of population and concentrated in the larger towns. In the course of these operations alone some 10 percent, lost their lives.
Himmler Orders Extermination
After Himmler’s visit to the General Gouvernment in March 1941, and his order for the extermination of 50 percent, of the Jews by the end of 1942, there could no longer be any doubt that this great mass murder could be halted only by events of great military and political importance.
In the spring of 1942 the news came that a new extermination camp had been opened at Sobibor, in Wlodawa County. It was expected that the work of liquidating the Warsaw ghetto would begin in the middle of April, and then at the end of May.
In June the rumour spread that it had been postponed for a time. But Himmler’s visit to the General Gouvernment in the middle of July 1942 hastened the execution of the plans and intensified their severity as compared with the original design.
Mass Murder under the Guise of Deportation
Notice announcing the death penalty for those who assist Jews who have left the ghetto without authorization
Preliminary to the liquidation, steps were taken aimed at eliminating foreign Jews from the scope of the measures. To this end a registration of all such Jews was carried out on 17 July 1942, and they were then interned in the Pawiak prison.
From Monday, 20 July onward the task of guarding the ghetto bounds was entrusted to strong cordons of junaks, i.e. security battalions consisting of Lithuanians, Latvians, Ukrainians and certain Soviet prisoners of war of these nationalities, as well as of Russian whites.
After this the Polish police performed only auxiliary service at the exit gates. This change also marked the end of the smuggling between the ghetto and the rest of the Warsaw, while the numbers of Jews shot at the boundaries increased.
The Junaks opened fire at windows of houses adjacent to the ghetto walls. Large forces of German police, armed with machine-guns, were also posted at every exit, an SS man being placed in charge of each post.
German police on motor-cycles patrolled the ghetto walls continually day and night. These preparations were watched by ghetto inhabitants with feelings of dread and terror.
On 21 July 1942 at eleven a.m. German police cars drove up to the building of the Jewish Council in Grzybowska Street. The SS officers who arrived in them ordered the Chairman Mr Czerniakow to summon the members of the Council.
German police and SS arrest Jews on Nowolipie Street in the Warsaw ghetto
On their arrival they were all arrested and carried off in police cars to the Pawiak prison. After a short period of detention the majority of them were released. About the same time police cars drove into the ghetto’s streets. Uniformed Germans broke into the houses looking chiefly for members of the Jewish intellectual class, and killing them on the spot, in their homes, not troubling to identify them.
Among those who were thus killed was a non-Jew Professor Raszej, who, armed with an official pass, was visiting the ghetto in the course of his medical duties. At the same time round-ups were made in the streets, these being noteworthy for the fact that only the better-dressed people were detained.
It later transpired that these passers-by who were fortuitously arrested, and also those members of the Jewish Council who were detained, were to be used as hostages.
So the day passed without either Mr Czerniakow or any other member of the Jewish Council, being informed of what it all meant and what was planned.
Next day, 22 July after ten o’clock a.m. police cars again drove up before the Jewish Council building. When those members of the Council who had been released were summoned, a long order on the “trans-settlement of the Jewish population of Warsaw” was dictated to them.
The essential details were given in the placard which was afterwards posted up, the other details concerning the technique of the deportations:
The number to be deported daily was 6,000
These persons were to be assembled in the building of the hospital on Stawki Street, which was to be emptied for the purpose at once. They were then to be taken to the “transhipment” point at Stawki Street, where there were railway sidings used for the ghetto official trade and industries.
The persons subject to deportation were to be handed over by the Jewish civil police every day before 4p.m, the first consignment to be supplied that same day, 22 July 1942 at 11 o’clock. The members of the Jewish Council with the arrested hostages would answer with their heads for the strict fulfilment of this order. At the express German request the first persons to be assembled for deportation that same day were those held in the Jewish prison, shelters etc.
On 23 July 1942, at seven p.m. two uniformed Germans again arrived at the building of the Jewish Council. They demanded to see Mr Czerniakow. Shortly after they had left his office after the interview he committed suicide.
It is not exactly known, what was the subject of their conversation, for Czerniakow said nothing to anybody about it before his death. But, from the notes he left and also a letter to his wife, it appears that he had been ordered to produce not six thousand but ten thousand people for deportation the following day, and thereafter at the rate of 7,000 a day.
After his death Mr Lichtenbaum, an engineer, became Chairman of the Jewish Council.
The Deportation Order
Jews forcibly deported from the Warsaw Ghetto
Next day ten thousand were in fact assembled at the transhipment point, and 7,000 every day after. The quota was made up of people taken from their homes or rounded up in the streets.
In order to encourage the Jewish police to greater activity the Germans obviously showed them favouritism at this stage: for instance, they provided them with safe-conducts stamped with the German police stamp, which freed from deportation not only their families (wives and children) who were excluded from deportation by the order, but other relations also.
As the order of 22 July 1942, excluded from deportation all workers in the large German – owned enterprises, together with their families, there was considerable competition among the inhabitants of the ghetto to obtain work in these enterprises, or rather to obtain certificates stating that they worked there.
Sums running into thousands of zlotys were paid for such certificates, the money, of course, being pocketed by the German owners of the works etc. It later transpired that not only these certificates of employment, but even the safe- conducts given to the Jewish police had no real value, for the Germans did not respect them and, despite their own order, arbitrarily deported anybody and everybody, without regard to their documents.
Jews from the Warsaw ghetto are boarded onto a deportation train at the Umschlagplatz
The actual process of deportation was carried out more and more brutally every day, and after some days the Germans themselves actively engaged in the work, with the aid of the junaks, independently of the Jewish police.
The Germans cordoned off a whole block of houses, entered the courtyard and opened fire. This was intended as a signal for everybody to leave their homes and assemble in the yard.Anyone who failed to get out quickly enough or who tried to hide was killed on the spot. All infirm, old and crippled people were also killed in their homes.
No consideration was shown for families as such, wives were torn away from their husbands, and children, even quite small tots, from their parents.
Mass Murders
To the accompaniment of incessant firing, at the transhipment point the Germans separated any old and infirm who had escaped so far, carried them straight to the Jewish cemetery, and killed them there.
Every day between sixty and a hundred persons were disposed of in this way. The others were packed into goods trucks, 120 people being crushed into trucks with room for forty. The people choked with lack of air, but the tracks were sealed up and the trains set out.
The floors of the trucks were covered with quicklime and chlorine. The route taken by such a train was marked by the bodies alongside the lines. The deportees were carried off to three execution camps at Treblinka, Belzec and Sobibor.
Here the trains were unloaded, the condemned were stripped naked and then killed, probably by poison gas or electrocution. For the purpose of burying the bodies a great bulldozer has been taken to Treblinka, and this machine works without stopping.
The stench of the decomposing bodies has nauseated all the peasants for three miles around and forced them to flight. In addition to Treblinka, there were also camps at Belzec and Sobibor.
A sign in Polish from the Belzec killing center that reads, "Attention! All belongings must be handed in at the counter
It has not been possible to ascertain whether any of those who have been carried off have been left alive. We have information only of extermination. Out of the 250,000 people deported only two small transport trains, four thousand people altogether, were sent to work behind the front line in the Brzesc and Malachowicze direction.
As a rule young and physically healthy people escaped this fate, because of their value as labour power, the main victims being old and infirm and children. All the children in the children’s homes and shelters were carried off.
Among these was an orphans’ home run by Janusz Korczak a well known Polish writer. He refused to leave the children, though he would have been allowed to remain. He and the manageress of the home went with the children to the assembly point.
The deportations have been going on unbrokenly ever since 22 July – every day between three and ten thousand people are carried off. Those who are left convulsively cling to the faint hope that they may escape the fate of those who have gone.
By 1 September some 250,000 people had already been carried off. For the month of September 120,000 ration cards were printed, for October only 40,000.
According to information obtained from the German Labour Bureau (Arbeitsamt) which confirmed the figure as to the number of ration cards prepared for October, only 40,000 skilled workers are to be left in the ghetto, held in barracks, as suitable for German war production.
Meantime, the Germans were taking steps to murder off the Jews of the smaller localities outside Warsaw. These murders took place under the very eyes of the Polish inhabitants, who were shocked to the depths of their souls.
Children were shot, pregnant women were killed, people who attempted to run away and hide were hunted like animals, and hundreds of bodies in the streets, by the wayside, along the railway lines were seen by large numbers of Poles.
The liquidation of the ghettos in the nearby places of Falenica, Rembertow, Nowy Dwor, Kaluszyn and Minsk Mazowiecki was carried out during a break in the work of deporting the Jews from the Warsaw ghetto, from 20 August to 24 August. The deportations from the Warsaw ghetto began again on 25 August.
Jews forced to board trucks for deportation
It is impossible to give a brief review of the steps taken by the Germans to eliminate the Warsaw ghetto- concludes the report received from Poland – without attempting to give people free from the German terror some idea of the scale and intensity of the mass murders which by 1 September 1942, had been committed on some 250,000 Jews, and which are still going on.
Any such attempt to give the people of Great Britain or America some idea of these unprecedented mass murders must begin by appealing to them to believe things that would seem incredible. They must get it clearly in their consciousness that all these things are true, the truth amid which we have to live and die.
The facts which we relate are not specially selected – they are facts of everyday existence in Poland. They are not isolated facts, every one of them can be matched by tens and hundreds of similar facts every day.
Since 22 July last anything from several dozen to several hundred Jews have been murdered every day in Warsaw, by shooting in the streets and houses. These murders are committed every day during round-ups of people who are carried off to be killed. Among the six to ten thousand people rounded up every day, for deportation, between fifty and a hundred old people, cripples, and infirm are taken to the cemetery to be shot and buried.
If anyone has any doubt whether it would be possible to kill off five, six or ten thousand people in one day, they can be convinced by the thousands of witnesses at Otwock, Rembertow, Siedlce, Minsk Mazowiecki, Lomza and many other localities.
People at each of these places have seen anything from two to ten thousand people murdered in the course of a few hours.
That gives some idea of the mass scale of these murders. The brutality with which they are carried out is on the same scale. These people carried off to death have to endure the maximum of suffering. Not less than a hundred people are packed into trucks suitable for forty. The trucks are sealed, the floors are covered with a thick layer of un-slaked lime. Sometimes, in order that the effect of the lime shall be greater, the deportees are ordered to take off their boots and shoes.
A Jewish man walks with three young children alongside a deportation train in the Warsaw ghetto
To inflict further suffering on mothers the children are torn from them. Orphanages are carried off in their entirety. The staffs do not abandon their children. But they can do no more when the moment comes for loading into trucks. The children are loaded into separate trucks, and the staffs are sent off by other trains.
For a German to shoot someone on the spot is regarded as an act of humanity, as is throwing anyone out of a sixth floor window. When one of the murderers throws a mother and her child out of the window on to the stones below, he evidently has a very soft heart. Such incidents are noted by the dozen every day.
Some of the acts of brutality are horrible even amid this horror. A pregnant Jewess escaped from the ghetto, and took shelter in a house in the Grochow district of Warsaw, where she was protected by Poles, and gave birth to the child.
But a German gendarme found her, shot her on the spot, and trampled the newly born infant to death. Must we tell you even more? Surely that is enough to indicate the scale of the cruelty?
As an indication of the scale of despair among the people let us tell you of the suicides. The suicides not only of individuals but of whole families together. By gas or by cyanide.
Every day someone takes poison. Several people, even up to a score, will commit suicide in one hour. To prevent people taking poison the chemists’ shops in the ghetto have all been closed.
Numbers of people have gone mad. Some of the victims implore the junaks to shoot them. But they have to pay for the privilege. The junaks demand fees of a hundred zlotys for shooting.
Annexes To The Report
Report Annex mentioning extermination at Belzec
Extraordinary Report from the Jew – extermination Camp at Belzec 10 July 1942
According to information from a German employed at the extermination camp, it is situated in Belzec, by the station, and is barred off by barriers of barbed wire. Inside the wire, and all round the outside, Ukrainians are on guard.
The executions are carried out in the following fashion:
When a trainload of Jews arrives at the station in Belzec, it is shunted by a side track up to the wire surrounding the place of execution, at which point there is a change in the engine crew and train guards.
From the wire onward the train is serviced by German drivers who take it to the unloading point, where the track ends. After unloading, the men go to a barracks on the right, the women to a barracks situated on the left, where they strip, ostensibly in readiness for a bath.
After they have undressed both groups go to a third barracks where there is an electrified plate, where the executions are carried out. Then the bodies are taken by train to a trench situated outside the wire, and some thirty metres deep. This trench was dug by Jews, who were all executed afterwards.
The Ukrainians on guard are also to be executed when the job is finished. The Ukrainians acting as guards are loaded with money and stolen valuables: they pay 400 zlotys for a litre of vodka, 2,000 zlotys and jewellery for relations with a woman.
Notes:
This is faithful transcript of the document, mistakes have not been corrected.
Sources:
The National Archives KEW
PRO
Holocaust Historical Society
US NARA
USHMM
Jewish children in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942
Before World War II started on September 1, 1939, there were 375,000 Jews living in Warsaw, as many as in all of France, and more than in the whole country of Czechoslovakia. Only the city of New York had a larger Jewish population than Warsaw.
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A man carries the body of one of three children killed yesterday in Israeli shelling of the northern Gaza Strip's seafront, at the morgue of Beit Lahia hospital 10 June 2006. Hamas ended an 18-month ceasefire today, firing 11 rockets at Israel. A statement by the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, said the attacks were in response to the killing of 10 Palestinians, including three young children, by Israeli artillery fire yesterday. Medical sources said five of those killed at the beach were members of the Ghali family from Gaza. AFP PHOTO/ SAMUEL ARANDA
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The Warsaw Uprising 1944 / Powstanie Warszawskie
The Warsaw Ghetto
"The Warsaw Ghetto"
POLISH MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
PRINTED AS A PRESS BULLETIN
Extermination of the Polish Jewry "What Happened in the Warsaw Ghetto"
London – Tuesday 1st December 1942 – No 57
The Polish Government has recently received from Poland the following on the measures taken by the German authorities to exterminate the population of the ghetto.
The Origin of the Warsaw Ghetto:
The German authorities created the Warsaw ghetto in October 1940. All the Jews in the city were ordered to transfer to the Jewish quarter assigned to them by 1 November 1940, while all the Aryans were ordered to remove elsewhere out of this quarter.
The Jews were allowed to take only personal articles with them, and were forbidden to take their furniture, though in practice this rule was not strictly observed. All the Jewish shops and businesses in the Aryan areas of the city were closed down and sealed.
The original terminal date for the transfer was postponed to 15 November 1940, after which Jews were not allowed to leave the ghetto. But Aryans were allowed to enter without passes down to 25 November 1940. After that the ghetto was completely closed, the entire area was surrounded by a wall and the right of entry and exit was granted only to the holders of passes issued by a special German office.
One entrance to the Warsaw ghetto
Anyone leaving the ghetto without a pass became liable to the death sentence, and the German courts have passed such sentences in a large number of cases. Even after the ghetto was closed a large number of commercial and industrial enterprises owned by Aryans were left within the walls.
All the trading and commercial businesses were transferred outside the walls by the spring of 1941, but Aryan industrial enterprises were left inside and gave employment to both Aryans and Jews.
Life in the Ghetto
After the sealing of the ghetto official intercourse with the outside world was maintained through a special German department, the Transferstelle.
In the spring of 1942 at a period when relations between the ghetto and the rest of Warsaw had been systemized, trade between the two parts of the city averaged a sum of 13 groshe daily per head of the ghetto population
At this same period a kilogramme (2 ¼ lbs) of bread cost over ten zlotys and a kilogramme of potatoes some five zlotys. From the earliest days of the ghetto commerce with the outside world was based chiefly on smuggling, which was carried on, on a large scale.
The Germans themselves participated in this violation of their own prescriptions, drawing large incomes from trading profits and bribes. In economic terms this illegal trade consisted of the selling up of Jewish property and possessions in exchange for food.
Jews wait to receive food coupons at a welfare office located at 14 Mranowska St.
The ghetto depended on smuggling for its food supplies, as the amount supplied on the ration cards was much lower even than that allowed to Poles, and was quite inadequate to maintain life.
It amounted to about half a kilogramme of bread per person weekly, and hardly anything to else. As time went on large workshops were organised for Jews to work on German orders. But smuggling remained the chief form of trade with the outside and when it came to an end during the period of “liquidation” of the ghetto the disparity between prices in the Jewish quarter and outside became even greater.
Bread inside the ghetto cost 60 to 85 zlotys a kilogramme, outside it was 8 to 12 zlotys, sugar was 400 to 450 zlotys a kilogramme inside and 35 to 70 zlotys outside, potatoes were 16 to 30 zlotys a kilogramme inside, and 3.50 zlotys outside.
The mortality rate inside the ghetto rose steadily month after month. This was due not only to the terrible need of the people, but to the harsh winters of 1940/41 and 1941/42, epidemics of spotted typhus, typhoid and tuberculosis.
Every day dozens of bodies were found in the streets – in 1941 the mortality amounted to some 13 percent of the total population, and during the first quarter of 1942 it amounted to over 15 percent, per annum. On the other hand, the birth rate fell almost to nothing.
None the less the population of the Warsaw ghetto remained almost stable throughout all the period of its existence. Officially it was about 433,000, but in fact it fell to 370,000. The reason is that more Jews were continually being driven into the ghetto from other countries such as Germany and Holand as well as from various smaller towns and places around Warsaw.
The Strengthening of Anti- Jewish Measures
A Jew stopped by German police in the ghetto
The occupying authorities continually resorted to various forms of terror steadily growing in violence and accounting for dozens of victims inside the ghetto every day, apart from the daily executions carried out beyond its confines.
Armed and uniformed Germans would pour into a house at night, drag out those destined as victims and kill them in the street. Adult Jews found outside the ghetto walls were shot on the spot, while children were drowned in clay pits or thrown into the towns canals.
After the outbreak of war between Germany and the Soviet Union and the German occupation of the Eastern areas of Poland, in July 1941, news began to arrive of mass machine-gunning of Jews in the more easterly towns and local centres.
At first the stories were hardly to be believed, but they were confirmed again and again by eyewitnesses. In the winter and early spring of 1942 these mass murders of tens of thousands of Jews grew more and more systematic.
Burying the dead in the Warsaw Ghetto
Throughout the whole of the Vilno province only one centre of Jewish life was left in the city of Vilno itself, where some 12,000 Jews remained. In the city of Vilno over 50,000 Jews were murdered, in Rowne 14,000 in Lwow 50 percent of the Jewish population, and in Kowel 10,000.
Later similar reports were received from Stanislawow, Tarnopol, Stiryj and dozens of other smaller towns. It became obvious that the terror was moving westward from the eastern borders, while in the extreme west, in Poland’s “incorporated” western provinces, Jews had already been completely eliminated, only specialist craftsmen working for the German army being left, herded in isolated barracks.
New methods of extermination were being applied. The use of poison gas was resorted to for ten thousand people in Chelm. A camp was organised at Belzec for the special purpose of execution by electrocution and here in the course of about a month, in March and April 1942 80,000 Jews from the Lublin, Lwow and part of the Kielce provinces were executed.
Out of Lublin’s 30,000 Jews only 2,500 were left, 70 of these being women. Auxiliary to the main work of extermination the Jews were being deported from the smaller centres of population and concentrated in the larger towns. In the course of these operations alone some 10 percent, lost their lives.
Himmler Orders Extermination
After Himmler’s visit to the General Gouvernment in March 1941, and his order for the extermination of 50 percent, of the Jews by the end of 1942, there could no longer be any doubt that this great mass murder could be halted only by events of great military and political importance.
In the spring of 1942 the news came that a new extermination camp had been opened at Sobibor, in Wlodawa County. It was expected that the work of liquidating the Warsaw ghetto would begin in the middle of April, and then at the end of May.
In June the rumour spread that it had been postponed for a time. But Himmler’s visit to the General Gouvernment in the middle of July 1942 hastened the execution of the plans and intensified their severity as compared with the original design.
Mass Murder under the Guise of Deportation
Notice announcing the death penalty for those who assist Jews who have left the ghetto without authorization
Preliminary to the liquidation, steps were taken aimed at eliminating foreign Jews from the scope of the measures. To this end a registration of all such Jews was carried out on 17 July 1942, and they were then interned in the Pawiak prison.
From Monday, 20 July onward the task of guarding the ghetto bounds was entrusted to strong cordons of junaks, i.e. security battalions consisting of Lithuanians, Latvians, Ukrainians and certain Soviet prisoners of war of these nationalities, as well as of Russian whites.
After this the Polish police performed only auxiliary service at the exit gates. This change also marked the end of the smuggling between the ghetto and the rest of the Warsaw, while the numbers of Jews shot at the boundaries increased.
The Junaks opened fire at windows of houses adjacent to the ghetto walls. Large forces of German police, armed with machine-guns, were also posted at every exit, an SS man being placed in charge of each post.
German police on motor-cycles patrolled the ghetto walls continually day and night. These preparations were watched by ghetto inhabitants with feelings of dread and terror.
On 21 July 1942 at eleven a.m. German police cars drove up to the building of the Jewish Council in Grzybowska Street. The SS officers who arrived in them ordered the Chairman Mr Czerniakow to summon the members of the Council.
German police and SS arrest Jews on Nowolipie Street in the Warsaw ghetto
On their arrival they were all arrested and carried off in police cars to the Pawiak prison. After a short period of detention the majority of them were released. About the same time police cars drove into the ghetto’s streets. Uniformed Germans broke into the houses looking chiefly for members of the Jewish intellectual class, and killing them on the spot, in their homes, not troubling to identify them.
Among those who were thus killed was a non-Jew Professor Raszej, who, armed with an official pass, was visiting the ghetto in the course of his medical duties. At the same time round-ups were made in the streets, these being noteworthy for the fact that only the better-dressed people were detained.
It later transpired that these passers-by who were fortuitously arrested, and also those members of the Jewish Council who were detained, were to be used as hostages.
So the day passed without either Mr Czerniakow or any other member of the Jewish Council, being informed of what it all meant and what was planned.
Next day, 22 July after ten o’clock a.m. police cars again drove up before the Jewish Council building. When those members of the Council who had been released were summoned, a long order on the “trans-settlement of the Jewish population of Warsaw” was dictated to them.
The essential details were given in the placard which was afterwards posted up, the other details concerning the technique of the deportations:
The number to be deported daily was 6,000
These persons were to be assembled in the building of the hospital on Stawki Street, which was to be emptied for the purpose at once. They were then to be taken to the “transhipment” point at Stawki Street, where there were railway sidings used for the ghetto official trade and industries.
The persons subject to deportation were to be handed over by the Jewish civil police every day before 4p.m, the first consignment to be supplied that same day, 22 July 1942 at 11 o’clock. The members of the Jewish Council with the arrested hostages would answer with their heads for the strict fulfilment of this order. At the express German request the first persons to be assembled for deportation that same day were those held in the Jewish prison, shelters etc.
On 23 July 1942, at seven p.m. two uniformed Germans again arrived at the building of the Jewish Council. They demanded to see Mr Czerniakow. Shortly after they had left his office after the interview he committed suicide.
It is not exactly known, what was the subject of their conversation, for Czerniakow said nothing to anybody about it before his death. But, from the notes he left and also a letter to his wife, it appears that he had been ordered to produce not six thousand but ten thousand people for deportation the following day, and thereafter at the rate of 7,000 a day.
After his death Mr Lichtenbaum, an engineer, became Chairman of the Jewish Council.
The Deportation Order
Jews forcibly deported from the Warsaw Ghetto
Next day ten thousand were in fact assembled at the transhipment point, and 7,000 every day after. The quota was made up of people taken from their homes or rounded up in the streets.
In order to encourage the Jewish police to greater activity the Germans obviously showed them favouritism at this stage: for instance, they provided them with safe-conducts stamped with the German police stamp, which freed from deportation not only their families (wives and children) who were excluded from deportation by the order, but other relations also.
As the order of 22 July 1942, excluded from deportation all workers in the large German – owned enterprises, together with their families, there was considerable competition among the inhabitants of the ghetto to obtain work in these enterprises, or rather to obtain certificates stating that they worked there.
Sums running into thousands of zlotys were paid for such certificates, the money, of course, being pocketed by the German owners of the works etc. It later transpired that not only these certificates of employment, but even the safe- conducts given to the Jewish police had no real value, for the Germans did not respect them and, despite their own order, arbitrarily deported anybody and everybody, without regard to their documents.
Jews from the Warsaw ghetto are boarded onto a deportation train at the Umschlagplatz
The actual process of deportation was carried out more and more brutally every day, and after some days the Germans themselves actively engaged in the work, with the aid of the junaks, independently of the Jewish police.
The Germans cordoned off a whole block of houses, entered the courtyard and opened fire. This was intended as a signal for everybody to leave their homes and assemble in the yard.Anyone who failed to get out quickly enough or who tried to hide was killed on the spot. All infirm, old and crippled people were also killed in their homes.
No consideration was shown for families as such, wives were torn away from their husbands, and children, even quite small tots, from their parents.
Mass Murders
To the accompaniment of incessant firing, at the transhipment point the Germans separated any old and infirm who had escaped so far, carried them straight to the Jewish cemetery, and killed them there.
Every day between sixty and a hundred persons were disposed of in this way. The others were packed into goods trucks, 120 people being crushed into trucks with room for forty. The people choked with lack of air, but the tracks were sealed up and the trains set out.
The floors of the trucks were covered with quicklime and chlorine. The route taken by such a train was marked by the bodies alongside the lines. The deportees were carried off to three execution camps at Treblinka, Belzec and Sobibor.
Here the trains were unloaded, the condemned were stripped naked and then killed, probably by poison gas or electrocution. For the purpose of burying the bodies a great bulldozer has been taken to Treblinka, and this machine works without stopping.
The stench of the decomposing bodies has nauseated all the peasants for three miles around and forced them to flight. In addition to Treblinka, there were also camps at Belzec and Sobibor.
A sign in Polish from the Belzec killing center that reads, "Attention! All belongings must be handed in at the counter
It has not been possible to ascertain whether any of those who have been carried off have been left alive. We have information only of extermination. Out of the 250,000 people deported only two small transport trains, four thousand people altogether, were sent to work behind the front line in the Brzesc and Malachowicze direction.
As a rule young and physically healthy people escaped this fate, because of their value as labour power, the main victims being old and infirm and children. All the children in the children’s homes and shelters were carried off.
Among these was an orphans’ home run by Janusz Korczak a well known Polish writer. He refused to leave the children, though he would have been allowed to remain. He and the manageress of the home went with the children to the assembly point.
The deportations have been going on unbrokenly ever since 22 July – every day between three and ten thousand people are carried off. Those who are left convulsively cling to the faint hope that they may escape the fate of those who have gone.
By 1 September some 250,000 people had already been carried off. For the month of September 120,000 ration cards were printed, for October only 40,000.
According to information obtained from the German Labour Bureau (Arbeitsamt) which confirmed the figure as to the number of ration cards prepared for October, only 40,000 skilled workers are to be left in the ghetto, held in barracks, as suitable for German war production.
Meantime, the Germans were taking steps to murder off the Jews of the smaller localities outside Warsaw. These murders took place under the very eyes of the Polish inhabitants, who were shocked to the depths of their souls.
Children were shot, pregnant women were killed, people who attempted to run away and hide were hunted like animals, and hundreds of bodies in the streets, by the wayside, along the railway lines were seen by large numbers of Poles.
The liquidation of the ghettos in the nearby places of Falenica, Rembertow, Nowy Dwor, Kaluszyn and Minsk Mazowiecki was carried out during a break in the work of deporting the Jews from the Warsaw ghetto, from 20 August to 24 August. The deportations from the Warsaw ghetto began again on 25 August.
Jews forced to board trucks for deportation
It is impossible to give a brief review of the steps taken by the Germans to eliminate the Warsaw ghetto- concludes the report received from Poland – without attempting to give people free from the German terror some idea of the scale and intensity of the mass murders which by 1 September 1942, had been committed on some 250,000 Jews, and which are still going on.
Any such attempt to give the people of Great Britain or America some idea of these unprecedented mass murders must begin by appealing to them to believe things that would seem incredible. They must get it clearly in their consciousness that all these things are true, the truth amid which we have to live and die.
The facts which we relate are not specially selected – they are facts of everyday existence in Poland. They are not isolated facts, every one of them can be matched by tens and hundreds of similar facts every day.
Since 22 July last anything from several dozen to several hundred Jews have been murdered every day in Warsaw, by shooting in the streets and houses. These murders are committed every day during round-ups of people who are carried off to be killed. Among the six to ten thousand people rounded up every day, for deportation, between fifty and a hundred old people, cripples, and infirm are taken to the cemetery to be shot and buried.
If anyone has any doubt whether it would be possible to kill off five, six or ten thousand people in one day, they can be convinced by the thousands of witnesses at Otwock, Rembertow, Siedlce, Minsk Mazowiecki, Lomza and many other localities.
People at each of these places have seen anything from two to ten thousand people murdered in the course of a few hours.
That gives some idea of the mass scale of these murders. The brutality with which they are carried out is on the same scale. These people carried off to death have to endure the maximum of suffering. Not less than a hundred people are packed into trucks suitable for forty. The trucks are sealed, the floors are covered with a thick layer of un-slaked lime. Sometimes, in order that the effect of the lime shall be greater, the deportees are ordered to take off their boots and shoes.
A Jewish man walks with three young children alongside a deportation train in the Warsaw ghetto
To inflict further suffering on mothers the children are torn from them. Orphanages are carried off in their entirety. The staffs do not abandon their children. But they can do no more when the moment comes for loading into trucks. The children are loaded into separate trucks, and the staffs are sent off by other trains.
For a German to shoot someone on the spot is regarded as an act of humanity, as is throwing anyone out of a sixth floor window. When one of the murderers throws a mother and her child out of the window on to the stones below, he evidently has a very soft heart. Such incidents are noted by the dozen every day.
Some of the acts of brutality are horrible even amid this horror. A pregnant Jewess escaped from the ghetto, and took shelter in a house in the Grochow district of Warsaw, where she was protected by Poles, and gave birth to the child.
But a German gendarme found her, shot her on the spot, and trampled the newly born infant to death. Must we tell you even more? Surely that is enough to indicate the scale of the cruelty?
As an indication of the scale of despair among the people let us tell you of the suicides. The suicides not only of individuals but of whole families together. By gas or by cyanide.
Every day someone takes poison. Several people, even up to a score, will commit suicide in one hour. To prevent people taking poison the chemists’ shops in the ghetto have all been closed.
Numbers of people have gone mad. Some of the victims implore the junaks to shoot them. But they have to pay for the privilege. The junaks demand fees of a hundred zlotys for shooting.
Annexes To The Report
Report Annex mentioning extermination at Belzec
Extraordinary Report from the Jew – extermination Camp at Belzec 10 July 1942
According to information from a German employed at the extermination camp, it is situated in Belzec, by the station, and is barred off by barriers of barbed wire. Inside the wire, and all round the outside, Ukrainians are on guard.
The executions are carried out in the following fashion:
When a trainload of Jews arrives at the station in Belzec, it is shunted by a side track up to the wire surrounding the place of execution, at which point there is a change in the engine crew and train guards.
From the wire onward the train is serviced by German drivers who take it to the unloading point, where the track ends. After unloading, the men go to a barracks on the right, the women to a barracks situated on the left, where they strip, ostensibly in readiness for a bath.
After they have undressed both groups go to a third barracks where there is an electrified plate, where the executions are carried out. Then the bodies are taken by train to a trench situated outside the wire, and some thirty metres deep. This trench was dug by Jews, who were all executed afterwards.
The Ukrainians on guard are also to be executed when the job is finished. The Ukrainians acting as guards are loaded with money and stolen valuables: they pay 400 zlotys for a litre of vodka, 2,000 zlotys and jewellery for relations with a woman.
Notes:
This is faithful transcript of the document, mistakes have not been corrected.
Sources:
The National Archives KEW
PRO
Holocaust Historical Society
US NARA
USHMM
Jewish children in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942
Before World War II started on September 1, 1939, there were 375,000 Jews living in Warsaw, as many as in all of France, and more than in the whole country of Czechoslovakia. Only the city of New York had a larger Jewish population than Warsaw.
Israelis Demolish Arab Homes in Jerusalem Sept. 11, 2001
A weeping Ashia Abu Nab sits atop the rubble of her demolished home after Israelis destroyed it, in Jerusalem September 11, 2001
Video Israel Doesn't Want You to See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW1-_JmXQt0
A man carries the body of one of three children killed yesterday in Israeli shelling of the northern Gaza Strip's seafront, at the morgue of Beit Lahia hospital 10 June 2006. Hamas ended an 18-month ceasefire today, firing 11 rockets at Israel. A statement by the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, said the attacks were in response to the killing of 10 Palestinians, including three young children, by Israeli artillery fire yesterday. Medical sources said five of those killed at the beach were members of the Ghali family from Gaza. AFP PHOTO/ SAMUEL ARANDA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3LGonpdHPk
Powstanie Warszawskie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZtc5vSoZtc
Evidence of What The Nazis Did To The Jews In Warsaw / Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZtc5vSoZtc
Jewish Hate Caught on tape
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hefIti-uFUo
Warszawa Walczy
Gaza Reality!!
If Americans Knew
Sunday, January 4, 2009
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE 2010 DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM (DV-2010)
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE 2010 DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM (DV-2010)
The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649) amended INA 203 and provides for a class of immigrants known as "diversity immigrants." Section 203(c) of the INA provides a maximum of 55,000 Diversity Visas (DV) each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The annual DV program makes visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses selectees for diversity visas. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the period of the past five years. Within each region, no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in any one year.
For DV-2010, natives of the following countries1 are not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the previous five years: BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, PERU, POLAND, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible. For DV-2010, Russia has returned to the list of eligible countries. Kosovo has also been added to the list of eligible countries. No countries have been removed from the list of eligible countries for DV-2010. The Department of State implemented the electronic registration system beginning with DV-2005 in order to make the Diversity Visa process more efficient and secure. The Department utilizes special technology and other means to identify those who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal immigration or those who submit multiple entries. In DV-2010, for the first time, those who submit entries may check the status of entries online and determine whether their entries are selected or not selected. Successful entrants will continue to receive notification letters by mail.
1 The term "country" in this notice includes countries, economies, and other jurisdictions explicitly listed beginning on page 13.
DIVERSITY VISA REGISTRATION PERIOD
Entries for the DV-2010 Diversity Visa lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Thursday, October 2, 2008, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, December 1, 2008. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity
Visa entry form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon, EST, on December 1, 2008. 2
REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY
To enter the DV lottery, you must be a native of one of the listed countries. See List Of Countries By Region Whose Natives Qualify.
Native of a country whose natives qualify: In most cases, this means the country in which you were born. However, there are two other ways you may be able to qualify. First, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible but your spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible; you can claim your spouse’s country of birth, provided both you and your spouse are on the selected entry, are issued visas, and enter the U.S. simultaneously. Second, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but neither of your parents was born there or resided there at the time of your birth, you may claim nativity in one of your parents’ country of birth, if it is a country whose natives qualify for the DV-2010 program.
To enter the lottery, you must meet either the education or work experience requirement of the DV program.
Education or Work Experience: You 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. The U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net OnLine database will be used to determine qualifying work experience. For more information about qualifying work experience, see Frequently Asked Question #13. If you cannot meet either of these requirements, you should NOT submit an entry to the DV program.
PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING AN ENTRY TO DV-2010
The Department of State will only accept completed Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) Entry Forms submitted electronically at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Thursday, October 2, 2008 and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, December 1, 2008.
All entries by an individual will be disqualified if more than ONE entry for that individual is received, regardless of who submitted the entry. You may prepare and submit your own entry, or have someone submit the entry for you.
A successfully registered entry will result in the display of a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. You may print this confirmation screen for your records using the print function of your web browser. Starting July 1, 2009, you will be able to check the status of your entry by returning to the website and entering your unique confirmation number and personal information.
Paper entries will not be accepted.
It is very important that all required photographs be submitted. Your entry will be disqualified if all required photographs are not submitted. Recent photographs of the following people must be submitted electronically with the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form:
You
Your spouse
Each unmarried child under 21 years of age at the time of your electronic entry, including all natural children as well as all legally-adopted children and stepchildren, even if a child no longer resides with you or you do not intend for a child to immigrate under the DV program.
You do not need to submit a photo for a child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident. Group or family photographs will not be accepted; there must be a separate photograph for each family member. Failure to submit the required photographs for your spouse and each child listed will result in an incomplete entry to the E-DV system. The entry will not be accepted and must be resubmitted. Failure to enter the correct photograph of each individual in the case into the E-DV system will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview.
3
A digital photograph (image) of you, your spouse, and each child must be submitted on-line with the E-DV Entry Form. The image file can be produced either by taking a new digital photograph or by scanning a photographic print with a digital scanner.
Entries are subject to disqualification and visa refusal for cases in which the photographs are not recent or have been manipulated or fail to meet the specifications explained below.
Instructions for Submitting a Digital Photograph (Image) The image file must adhere to the following compositional and technical specifications and can be produced in one of the following ways: taking a new digital image or using a digital scanner to scan a photograph. Entrants may test their photos for suitability through the photo validator link on the e-DV website before submitting their entries. The photo validator provides additional technical advice on photo composition, along with examples of acceptable and unacceptable photos. Compositional Specifications: The submitted digital image must conform to the following compositional specifications or the entry will be disqualified.
Head Position
o The person being photographed must directly face the camera.
o The head of the person should not be tilted up, down, or to the side.
o The head of the person should cover about 50% of the area of the photograph.
Background
o The person being photographed should be taken with the person in front of a neutral, light-colored background.
o Dark or patterned backgrounds are not acceptable.
Focus
o The photograph must be in focus.
Decorative Items
o Photographs in which the person being photographed is wearing sunglasses or other items that detract from the face will not be accepted.
Head Coverings and Hats
o Photos of applicants wearing head coverings or hats are only acceptable if the head covering is worn for religious beliefs; and even then, the head covering may not obscure any portion of the face of the applicant. Photographs of applicants with tribal or other headgear not specifically religious in nature will not be accepted; photographs of military, airline, or other personnel wearing hats will not be accepted.
Color photographs in 24-bit color depth are required. Photographs may be downloaded from a camera to a file in the computer, or they may be scanned to a file in the computer. If you are using a scanner, the settings must be for True Color or 24-bit color mode. Color photographs must be scanned at this setting for the requirements of the DV program. See the additional scanning requirements below.
Technical Specifications
The submitted digital photograph must conform to the following specifications or the system will automatically reject the E-DV Entry Form and notify the sender.
Taking a New Digital Image. If a new digital image is taken, it must meet the following specifications:
Image File Format:
The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format.
Image File Size:
The maximum image file size is 240 kilobytes (240 KB).
The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649) amended INA 203 and provides for a class of immigrants known as "diversity immigrants." Section 203(c) of the INA provides a maximum of 55,000 Diversity Visas (DV) each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The annual DV program makes visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses selectees for diversity visas. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the period of the past five years. Within each region, no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in any one year.
For DV-2010, natives of the following countries1 are not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the previous five years: BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, PERU, POLAND, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible. For DV-2010, Russia has returned to the list of eligible countries. Kosovo has also been added to the list of eligible countries. No countries have been removed from the list of eligible countries for DV-2010. The Department of State implemented the electronic registration system beginning with DV-2005 in order to make the Diversity Visa process more efficient and secure. The Department utilizes special technology and other means to identify those who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal immigration or those who submit multiple entries. In DV-2010, for the first time, those who submit entries may check the status of entries online and determine whether their entries are selected or not selected. Successful entrants will continue to receive notification letters by mail.
1 The term "country" in this notice includes countries, economies, and other jurisdictions explicitly listed beginning on page 13.
DIVERSITY VISA REGISTRATION PERIOD
Entries for the DV-2010 Diversity Visa lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Thursday, October 2, 2008, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, December 1, 2008. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity
Visa entry form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon, EST, on December 1, 2008. 2
REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY
To enter the DV lottery, you must be a native of one of the listed countries. See List Of Countries By Region Whose Natives Qualify.
Native of a country whose natives qualify: In most cases, this means the country in which you were born. However, there are two other ways you may be able to qualify. First, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible but your spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible; you can claim your spouse’s country of birth, provided both you and your spouse are on the selected entry, are issued visas, and enter the U.S. simultaneously. Second, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but neither of your parents was born there or resided there at the time of your birth, you may claim nativity in one of your parents’ country of birth, if it is a country whose natives qualify for the DV-2010 program.
To enter the lottery, you must meet either the education or work experience requirement of the DV program.
Education or Work Experience: You 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. The U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net OnLine database will be used to determine qualifying work experience. For more information about qualifying work experience, see Frequently Asked Question #13. If you cannot meet either of these requirements, you should NOT submit an entry to the DV program.
PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING AN ENTRY TO DV-2010
The Department of State will only accept completed Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) Entry Forms submitted electronically at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Thursday, October 2, 2008 and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, December 1, 2008.
All entries by an individual will be disqualified if more than ONE entry for that individual is received, regardless of who submitted the entry. You may prepare and submit your own entry, or have someone submit the entry for you.
A successfully registered entry will result in the display of a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. You may print this confirmation screen for your records using the print function of your web browser. Starting July 1, 2009, you will be able to check the status of your entry by returning to the website and entering your unique confirmation number and personal information.
Paper entries will not be accepted.
It is very important that all required photographs be submitted. Your entry will be disqualified if all required photographs are not submitted. Recent photographs of the following people must be submitted electronically with the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form:
You
Your spouse
Each unmarried child under 21 years of age at the time of your electronic entry, including all natural children as well as all legally-adopted children and stepchildren, even if a child no longer resides with you or you do not intend for a child to immigrate under the DV program.
You do not need to submit a photo for a child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident. Group or family photographs will not be accepted; there must be a separate photograph for each family member. Failure to submit the required photographs for your spouse and each child listed will result in an incomplete entry to the E-DV system. The entry will not be accepted and must be resubmitted. Failure to enter the correct photograph of each individual in the case into the E-DV system will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview.
3
A digital photograph (image) of you, your spouse, and each child must be submitted on-line with the E-DV Entry Form. The image file can be produced either by taking a new digital photograph or by scanning a photographic print with a digital scanner.
Entries are subject to disqualification and visa refusal for cases in which the photographs are not recent or have been manipulated or fail to meet the specifications explained below.
Instructions for Submitting a Digital Photograph (Image) The image file must adhere to the following compositional and technical specifications and can be produced in one of the following ways: taking a new digital image or using a digital scanner to scan a photograph. Entrants may test their photos for suitability through the photo validator link on the e-DV website before submitting their entries. The photo validator provides additional technical advice on photo composition, along with examples of acceptable and unacceptable photos. Compositional Specifications: The submitted digital image must conform to the following compositional specifications or the entry will be disqualified.
Head Position
o The person being photographed must directly face the camera.
o The head of the person should not be tilted up, down, or to the side.
o The head of the person should cover about 50% of the area of the photograph.
Background
o The person being photographed should be taken with the person in front of a neutral, light-colored background.
o Dark or patterned backgrounds are not acceptable.
Focus
o The photograph must be in focus.
Decorative Items
o Photographs in which the person being photographed is wearing sunglasses or other items that detract from the face will not be accepted.
Head Coverings and Hats
o Photos of applicants wearing head coverings or hats are only acceptable if the head covering is worn for religious beliefs; and even then, the head covering may not obscure any portion of the face of the applicant. Photographs of applicants with tribal or other headgear not specifically religious in nature will not be accepted; photographs of military, airline, or other personnel wearing hats will not be accepted.
Color photographs in 24-bit color depth are required. Photographs may be downloaded from a camera to a file in the computer, or they may be scanned to a file in the computer. If you are using a scanner, the settings must be for True Color or 24-bit color mode. Color photographs must be scanned at this setting for the requirements of the DV program. See the additional scanning requirements below.
Technical Specifications
The submitted digital photograph must conform to the following specifications or the system will automatically reject the E-DV Entry Form and notify the sender.
Taking a New Digital Image. If a new digital image is taken, it must meet the following specifications:
Image File Format:
The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format.
Image File Size:
The maximum image file size is 240 kilobytes (240 KB).
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE 2010 DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM (DV-2010)
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE 2010 DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM (DV-2010)
The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649) amended INA 203 and provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants.” Section 203(c) of the INA provides a maximum of 55,000 Diversity Visas (DV) each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The annual DV program makes visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses selectees for diversity visas. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the period of the past five years. Within each region, no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in any one year.
For DV-2010, natives of the following countries1 are not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the previous five years: BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, PERU, POLAND, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible. For DV-2010, Russia has returned to the list of eligible countries. Kosovo has also been added to the list of eligible countries. No countries have been removed from the list of eligible countries for DV-2010. The Department of State implemented the electronic registration system beginning with DV-2005 in order to make the Diversity Visa process more efficient and secure. The Department utilizes special technology and other means to identify those who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal immigration or those who submit multiple entries. In DV-2010, for the first time, those who submit entries may check the status of entries online and determine whether their entries are selected or not selected. Successful entrants will continue to receive notification letters by mail. DIVERSITY VISA REGISTRATION PERIOD Entries for the DV-2010 Diversity Visa lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Thursday, October 2, 2008, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, December 1, 2008. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity
Visa entry form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon, EST, on December 1, 2008.
1 The term "country" in this notice includes countries, economies, and other jurisdictions explicitly listed beginning on page 13.
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REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY
To enter the DV lottery, you must be a native of one of the listed countries. See List Of Countries By Region Whose Natives Qualify.
Native of a country whose natives qualify: In most cases, this means the country in which you were born. However, there are two other ways you may be able to qualify. First, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible but your spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible; you can claim your spouse’s country of birth, provided both you and your spouse are on the selected entry, are issued visas, and enter the U.S. simultaneously. Second, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but neither of your parents was born there or resided there at the time of your birth, you may claim nativity in one of your parents’ country of birth, if it is a country whose natives qualify for the DV-2010 program.
To enter the lottery, you must meet either the education or work experience requirement of the DV program.
Education or Work Experience: You 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. The U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net OnLine database will be used to determine qualifying work experience. For more information about qualifying work experience, see Frequently Asked Question #13. If you cannot meet either of these requirements, you should NOT submit an entry to the DV program. PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING AN ENTRY TO DV-2010
The Department of State will only accept completed Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) Entry Forms submitted electronically at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Thursday, October 2, 2008 and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, December 1, 2008.
All entries by an individual will be disqualified if more than ONE entry for that individual is received, regardless of who submitted the entry. You may prepare and submit your own entry, or have someone submit the entry for you.
A successfully registered entry will result in the display of a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. You may print this confirmation screen for your records using the print function of your web browser. Starting July 1, 2009, you will be able to check the status of your entry by returning to the website and entering your unique confirmation number and personal information.
Paper entries will not be accepted.
It is very important that all required photographs be submitted. Your entry will be disqualified if all required photographs are not submitted. Recent photographs of the following people must be submitted electronically with the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form:
You
Your spouse
Each unmarried child under 21 years of age at the time of your electronic entry, including all natural children as well as all legally-adopted children and stepchildren, even if a child no longer resides with you or you do not intend for a child to immigrate under the DV program.
You do not need to submit a photo for a child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident. Group or family photographs will not be accepted; there must be a separate photograph for each family member. Failure to submit the required photographs for your spouse and each child listed will result in an incomplete entry to the E-DV system. The entry will not be accepted and must be resubmitted. Failure to enter the correct photograph of each individual in the case into the E-DV system will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview.
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A digital photograph (image) of you, your spouse, and each child must be submitted on-line with the E-DV Entry Form. The image file can be produced either by taking a new digital photograph or by scanning a photographic print with a digital scanner.
Entries are subject to disqualification and visa refusal for cases in which the photographs are not recent or have been manipulated or fail to meet the specifications explained below.
Instructions for Submitting a Digital Photograph (Image) The image file must adhere to the following compositional and technical specifications and can be produced in one of the following ways: taking a new digital image or using a digital scanner to scan a photograph. Entrants may test their photos for suitability through the photo validator link on the e-DV website before submitting their entries. The photo validator provides additional technical advice on photo composition, along with examples of acceptable and unacceptable photos. Compositional Specifications: The submitted digital image must conform to the following compositional specifications or the entry will be disqualified.
Head Position
o The person being photographed must directly face the camera.
o The head of the person should not be tilted up, down, or to the side.
o The head of the person should cover about 50% of the area of the photograph.
Background
o The person being photographed should be taken with the person in front of a neutral, light-colored background.
o Dark or patterned backgrounds are not acceptable.
Focus
o The photograph must be in focus.
Decorative Items
o Photographs in which the person being photographed is wearing sunglasses or other items that detract from the face will not be accepted.
Head Coverings and Hats
o Photos of applicants wearing head coverings or hats are only acceptable if the head covering is worn for religious beliefs; and even then, the head covering may not obscure any portion of the face of the applicant. Photographs of applicants with tribal or other headgear not specifically religious in nature will not be accepted; photographs of military, airline, or other personnel wearing hats will not be accepted.
Color photographs in 24-bit color depth are required. Photographs may be downloaded from a camera to a file in the computer, or they may be scanned to a file in the computer. If you are using a scanner, the settings must be for True Color or 24-bit color mode. Color photographs must be scanned at this setting for the requirements of the DV program. See the additional scanning requirements below.
Technical Specifications
The submitted digital photograph must conform to the following specifications or the system will automatically reject the E-DV Entry Form and notify the sender.
Taking a New Digital Image. If a new digital image is taken, it must meet the following specifications:
Image File Format:
The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format.
Image File Size:
The maximum image file size is 240 kilobytes (240 KB).
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Image Resolution:
600 pixels high by 600 pixels wide.
Image Color Depth:
24-bit color [Note: Color photographs are required. Black and white, monochrome images (2-bit color depth), 8-bit color, or 8-bit grayscale will not be accepted.]
Scanning a Submitted Photograph. Before a photographic print is scanned, it must meet the compositional specifications listed above. If the photographic print meets the print color and compositional specifications, scan the print using the following scanner specifications:
Scanner Resolution:
Scanned at a resolution of at least 150 dots per inch (dpi).
Image File Format:
The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format.
Image File Size:
The maximum image file size is 240 kilobytes (240 KB).
Image Resolution:
600 by 600 pixels.
Image Color Depth:
24-bit color. [Note that black and white, monochrome, or grayscale images will not be accepted.]
INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR THE ELECTRONIC ENTRY
There is only one way to enter the DV-2010 lottery. You must submit the DS 5501, the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form (E-DV Entry Form), which is accessible only at www.dvlottery.state.gov. Failure to complete the form in its entirety will disqualify the entry. Those who submit the E-DV entry will be asked to include the following information on the E-DV Entry Form.
1. FULL NAME – Last/Family Name, First Name, Middle name
2. DATE OF BIRTH – Day, Month, Year
3. GENDER – Male or Female
4. CITY WHERE YOU WERE BORN
5. COUNTRY WHERE YOU WERE BORN – The name of the country should be that which is currently in use for the place where you were born.
6. COUNTRY OF ELIGIBILITY OR CHARGEABILITY FOR THE DV PROGRAM – Your country of eligibility will normally be the same as your country of birth. Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live. If you were born in a country that is not eligible for the DV program, please review the instructions to see if there is another option for country chargeability available for you. For additional information on chargeability, please review “Frequently Asked Question #1” of these instructions.
7. ENTRY PHOTOGRAPH(S) – See the technical information on photograph specifications. Make sure you include photographs of your spouse and all your children, if applicable. See Frequently Asked Question #3.
8. MAILING ADDRESS – In Care Of, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City/Town, District/Country/Province/State, Postal Code/Zip Code, and Country
9. COUNTRY WHERE YOU LIVE TODAY
10. PHONE NUMBER (optional)
11. E-MAIL ADDRESS (optional)
12. WHAT IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF EDUCATION YOU HAVE ACHIEVED, AS OF TODAY? You must indicate which one of the following represents your own highest level of educational achievement: (1)
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Primary school only, (2) High school, no degree, (3) High school degree, (4) Vocational school, (5) Some university courses, (6) University degree, (7) Some graduate level courses, (8) Master degree, (9) Some doctorate level courses, and (10) Doctorate degree
13. MARITAL STATUS – Unmarried, Married, Divorced, Widowed, or Legally Separated
14. NUMBER OF CHILDREN – Entries MUST include the name, date, and place of birth of your spouse and all natural children, as well as all legally-adopted children and stepchildren who are unmarried and under the age of 21 on the date of your entry (do not include children who are already U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents), even if you are no longer legally married to the child’s parent, and even if the spouse or child does not currently reside with you and/or will not immigrate with you. Note that married children and children 21 years or older are not eligible for the diversity visa; however, U.S. law protects children from “aging out” in certain circumstances. If your electronic DV entry is made before your unmarried child turns 21, and the child turns 21 before visa issuance, he/she will be treated as though he/she were under 21 for visa-processing purposes. Failure to list all children who are eligible will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview. See Frequently Asked Question #11. 15. SPOUSE INFORMATION – Name, Date of Birth, Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth, and Photograph. Failure to list your spouse will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview. 16. CHILDREN INFORMATION – Name, Date of Birth, Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth, and Photograph: Include all children declared in question #14 above.
SELECTION OF APPLICANTS The computer will randomly select individuals from among all qualified entries. The selected individuals will be notified by mail between May and July 2009; the notification letters will provide further instructions, including information on fees connected with immigration to the U.S. Those selected in the random drawing are NOT notified by e-mail. Those individuals NOT selected will NOT receive any notification. U.S. embassies and consulates will not provide a list of successful entrants. Successful entrants’ spouses and unmarried children under age 21 may also apply for visas to accompany or follow-to-join the principal applicant. DV-2010 visas will be issued between October 1, 2009, and September 30, 2010. Processing of entries and issuance of diversity visas to successful individuals and their eligible family members MUST occur by midnight on September 30, 2010. Under no circumstances can diversity visas be issued or adjustments approved after this date, nor can family members obtain diversity visas to follow-to-join the principal applicant in the U.S. after this date. In order to receive a Diversity Visa to immigrate to the United States, those chosen in the random drawing must meet ALL eligibility requirements under U.S. law. These requirements may significantly increase the level of scrutiny required and time necessary for processing for natives of some countries listed in this notice including, but not limited to, countries identified as state sponsors of terrorism. Important Notice No fee is charged for the electronic lottery entry in the annual DV program. The U.S. Government employs no outside consultants or private services to operate the DV program. Any intermediaries or others who offer assistance to prepare DV entries do so without the authority or consent of the U.S. Government. Use of any outside intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV entry is entirely at the entrant’s discretion. A qualified electronic entry submitted directly by an applicant has an equal chance of being selected by the computer at the Kentucky Consular Center as does an electronic entry received during the lottery registration period will have an equal random chance of being selected within its region. However, receipt of more than one entry per person will disqualify the person from registration, regardless of the source of the entry.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. WHAT DO THE TERMS “ELIGIBILITY”, “NATIVE” AND “CHARGEABILITY” MEAN? ARE THERE ANY SITUATIONS IN WHICH PERSONS WHO WERE NOT BORN IN A QUALIFYING COUNTRY MAY APPLY?
Your country of eligibility will normally be the same as your country of birth. Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live. “Native” ordinarily means someone born in a particular country, regardless of the individual’s current country of residence or nationality. For immigration purposes, “native” can also mean someone who is entitled to be “charged” to a country other than the one in which he/she was born under the provisions of Section 202(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. For example, if you were born in a country that is not eligible for this year’s DV program, you may claim chargeability to the country where your derivative spouse was born, but you will not be issued a DV-1 unless your spouse is also eligible for and issued a DV-2, and both of you must enter the United States together with the diversity visas. In a similar manner, a minor dependent child can be “charged” to a parent’s country of birth. Finally, if you were born in a country not eligible to participate in this year’s DV program, you can be “charged” to the country of birth of either of your parents as long as neither parent was a resident of the ineligible country at the time of the your birth. In general, people are not considered residents of a country in which they were not born or legally naturalized if they are only visiting the country, studying in the country temporarily, or stationed temporarily in the country for business or professional reasons on behalf of a company or government from a country other than the country in which the applicant was born. If you claim alternate chargeability, you must indicate such information on the E-DV electronic online entry form, in question #6. Please be aware that listing an incorrect country of eligibility or chargeability (i.e., one to which you cannot establish a valid claim) may disqualify your entry.
2. ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR NEW REQUIREMENTS IN THE APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR THIS DIVERSITY VISA REGISTRATION?
For DV-2010, you may check the status of your entry using your confirmation page information. Because this confirmation information will be provided only once – at the time of your entry – it is extremely important that you print or write down your confirmation information for later use. If you lose this information, you will still receive a letter from the Kentucky Consular Center by mail notifying you of your selection, if you are successful. You will receive no additional notification if your entry is unsuccessful, but you may check this through the Internet using your confirmation information. Photo size requirements have increased for DV-2010 to 600 by 600 pixels. Old photos used in previous years should not be reused for DV-2010. Only color photos may be submitted for DV-2010. Black and white photos are not acceptable.
3. ARE SIGNATURES AND PHOTOGRAPHS REQUIRED FOR EACH FAMILY MEMBER, OR ONLY FOR THE PRINCIPAL ENTRANT?
Signatures are not required on the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. Recent and individual photographs of you, your spouse and all children under 21 years of age are required. Family or group photographs are not accepted. Refer to information on the photograph requirements located in this bulletin.
4. WHY DO NATIVES OF CERTAIN COUNTRIES NOT QUALIFY FOR THE DIVERSITY PROGRAM?
Diversity visas are intended to provide an immigration opportunity for persons from countries other than the countries that send large numbers of immigrants to the U.S. The law states that no diversity visas shall be provided for natives of “high-admission” countries. The law defines this to mean countries from which a total of 50,000 persons in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based visa categories immigrated to the United States during the previous five years. Each year, the USCIS adds the family and employment immigrant admission figures for the previous five years to identify the countries whose natives will be ineligible for the
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annual diversity lottery. Because there is a separate determination made before each annual E-DV entry period, the list of countries whose natives are not eligible may change from one year to the next.
5. WHAT IS THE NUMERICAL LIMIT FOR DV-2010?
By law, the U.S. diversity immigration program makes available a maximum of 55,000 permanent residence visas each year to eligible persons. However, the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that beginning as early as DV-1999, and for as long as necessary, up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NACARA program. The actual reduction of the limit by up to 5,000 diversity visas began with DV-2000 and is likely to remain in effect through the DV-2010 program.
6. WHAT ARE THE REGIONAL DIVERSITY VISA (DV) LIMITS FOR DV-2010?
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines the DV regional limits for each year according to a formula specified in Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Once the USCIS has completed the calculations, the regional visa limits will be announced.
7. WHEN WILL ENTRIES FOR THE DV-2010 PROGRAM BE ACCEPTED?
The DV-2010 entry period will run through the registration period listed above. Each year millions of people apply for the program during the registration period. The massive volume of entries creates an enormous amount of work in selecting and processing successful individuals. Holding the entry period during October, November, and December will ensure that selectees are notified in a timely manner and gives both the visa applicants and our embassies and consulates time to prepare and complete cases for visa issuance. You are strongly encouraged to enter early in the registration period. Excessive demand at end of the registration period may slow the system down. No entries whatsoever will be accepted after noon EST Monday December 1, 2008.
8. MAY PERSONS WHO ARE IN THE U.S. APPLY FOR THE PROGRAM?
Yes, an applicant may be in the U.S. or in another country, and the entry may be submitted from the United States or from abroad.
9. IS EACH APPLICANT LIMITED TO ONLY ONE ENTRY DURING THE ANNUAL E-DV REGISTRATION PERIOD?
Yes, the law allows only one entry by or for each person during each registration period. Individuals for whom more than one entry is submitted will be disqualified. The Department of State will employ sophisticated technology and other means to identify individuals who submit multiple entries during the registration period. People submitting more than one entry will be disqualified and an electronic record will be permanently maintained by the Department of State. Individuals may apply for the program each year during the regular registration period.
10. MAY A HUSBAND AND A WIFE EACH SUBMIT A SEPARATE ENTRY?
Yes, a husband and a wife may each submit one entry if each meets the eligibility requirements. If either is selected, the other is entitled to derivative status.
11. WHAT FAMILY MEMBERS MUST I INCLUDE ON MY E-DV ENTRY?
On your entry you must list your spouse (husband or wife) and all unmarried children under 21 years of age, with the exception of children who are already U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents. You must list your spouse even if you are currently separated from him/her, unless you are legally separated (i.e.,
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there is a written agreement recognized by a court or a court order). If you are legally separated or divorced, you do not need to list your former spouse. You must list ALL your children who are unmarried and under 21 years of age at the time of your initial electronic DV entry, whether they are your natural children, your spouse’s children, or children you have formally adopted in accordance with the laws of your country, unless such child is already a U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent Resident. List all children under 21 years of age at the time of your electronic entry, even if they no longer reside with you or you do not intend for them to immigrate under the DV program. The fact that you have listed family members on your entry does not mean that they must travel with you. They may choose to remain behind. However, if you include an eligible dependent on your visa application forms that you failed to include on your original entry, your case will be disqualified. This only applies to those who were family members at the time the original application was submitted, not those acquired at a later date. Your spouse may still submit a separate entry, even though he or she is listed on your entry, as long as both entries include details on all dependents in your family. See question #10 above.
12. MUST I SUBMIT MY OWN ENTRY, OR MAY SOMEONE ACT ON MY BEHALF?
You may prepare and submit your own entry, or have someone submit the entry for you. Regardless of whether an entry is submitted by the individual directly, or assistance is provided by an attorney, friend, relative, etc., only one entry may be submitted in the name of each person, and the entrant remains responsible for ensuring that information in the entry is correct and complete. If the entry is selected, the notification letter will be sent only to the mailing address provided on the entry. All entrants, including those not selected, will be able to check the status of their entry through the official DV website. Entrants should keep their own confirmation page information so that they may independently check the status of their entry.
13. WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION OR WORK EXPERIENCE?
The law and regulations require that every entrant must have at least a high school education or its equivalent or have, within the past five years, two years of work experience in an occupation requiring at least two years’ training or experience. A “high school education or equivalent” is defined as successful completion of a twelve-year course of elementary and secondary education in the United States or successful completion in another country of a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to a high school education in the United States. Only formal courses of study meet this requirement; correspondence programs or equivalency certificates (such as the G.E.D.) are not acceptable. Documentary proof of education or work experience must be presented to the consular officer at the time of the visa interview. What Occupations qualify for the Diversity Visa Program?
To determine eligibility based on work experience, definitions from the Department of Labor’s O*Net OnLine database will be used. The O*Net Online Database groups job experience into five “job zones.” While many occupations are listed on the DOL Website, only certain specified occupations qualify for the Diversity Visa Program. To qualify for a Diversity Visa on the basis of your work experience, you must have, within the past five years, two years of experience in an occupation that is designated as Job Zone 4 or 5, classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) range of 7.0 or higher. How Do I Find the Qualifying Occupations on the Department of Labor Website? Qualifying DV Occupations are shown on the Department of Labor O*Net Online Database. Follow these steps to find out if your occupation qualifies: Select “Find Occupations” and then select a specific “Job Family.” For example, select Architecture and Engineering and click “GO.” Then click on the link for the specific Occupation. Following the same example, click Aerospace Engineers. After selecting a specific Occupation link, select the tab “Job Zone” to find out the designated Job Zone number and Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) rating range.
14. HOW WILL SUCCESSFUL ENTRANTS BE SELECTED?
At the Kentucky Consular Center, all entries received from each region will be individually numbered. After the end of the registration period, a computer will randomly select entries from among all the entries received for each geographic region. Within each region, the first entry randomly selected will be the first case
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registered; the second entry selected the second registration, etc. All entries received during the registration period will have an equal chance of being selected within each region. When an entry has been selected, the entrant will be sent a notification letter by the Kentucky Consular Center, which will provide visa application instructions. The Kentucky Consular Center will continue to process the case until those selected to be visa applicants are instructed to appear for visa interviews at a U.S. consular office or until those qualifying to change status in the United States apply at a domestic USCIS office. Important Note: Notifications to those selected in the random lottery are not sent by e-mail. Should you receive an e-mail notification about your E-DV selection, be aware that the message is not legitimate.
15. MAY SELECTEES ADJUST THEIR STATUS WITH USCIS?
Yes, provided they are otherwise eligible to adjust status under the terms of Section 245 of the INA, selected individuals who are physically present in the United States may apply to the USCIS for adjustment of status to permanent resident. Applicants must ensure that USCIS can complete action on their cases, including processing of any overseas derivatives, before September 30, 2010, since on that date registrations for the DV-2010 program expire. No visa numbers for the DV-2010 program will be available after midnight EST on September 30, 2010 under any circumstances.
16. WILL ENTRANTS WHO ARE NOT SELECTED BE INFORMED?
Starting with DV-2010, all entrants, including those NOT selected, will be able to check the status of their entry through the E-DV website and find out if their entry was or was not selected. Entrants should keep their own confirmation page information from the time of their entry (October 2, 2008, to December 1, 2008) until they may check the status of their entry online. Status information for DV-2010 will be available online from July 1, 2009, until June 30, 2010. All notification letters are sent to the address indicated on the entry within five to seven months from the end of the application period.
17. HOW MANY INDIVIDUALS WILL BE SELECTED?
There are 50,000 DV visas available for DV-2010, but more than that number of individuals will be selected. Because it is likely that some of the first 50,000 persons who are selected will not qualify for visas or pursue their cases to visa issuance, more than 50,000 entries will be selected by the Kentucky Consular Center to ensure that all of the available DV visas are issued. However, this also means that there will not be a sufficient number of visas for all those who are initially selected. All applicants who are selected will be informed promptly of their place on the list. Interviews for the DV-2010 program will begin in October 2009. The Kentucky Consular Center will send appointment letters to selected applicants four to six weeks before the scheduled interviews with U.S. consular officers at overseas posts. Each month, visas will be issued to those applicants who are ready for issuance during that month, visa-number availability permitting. Once all of the 50,000 DV visas have been issued, the program will end. In principle, visa numbers could be finished before September 2010. Selected applicants who wish to receive visas must be prepared to act promptly on their cases. Random selection by the Kentucky Consular Center computer as a selectee does not automatically guarantee that you will receive a visa. You must qualify for the visa as well.
18. IS THERE A MINIMUM AGE FOR APPLICANTS TO APPLY FOR THE E-DV PROGRAM?
There is no minimum age to apply for the program, but the requirement of a high school education or work experience for each principal applicant at the time of application will effectively disqualify most persons who are under age 18.
19. ARE THERE ANY FEES FOR THE E-DV PROGRAM?
There is no fee for submitting an electronic lottery entry. DV applicants must pay all required visa fees at the time of visa application directly to the consular cashier at the embassy or consulate. Details of required diversity visa and immigration visa application fees will be included with the instructions sent by the Kentucky Consular Center to applicants who are selected.
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20. DO DV APPLICANTS RECEIVE WAIVERS OF ANY GROUNDS OF VISA INELIGIBILITY OR RECEIVE SPECIAL PROCESSING FOR A WAIVER APPLICATION?
Applicants are subject to all grounds of ineligibility for immigrant visas specified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. There are no special provisions for the waiver of any ground of visa ineligibility aside from those ordinarily provided in the Act, nor is there special processing for waiver requests. Some general waiver provisions for people with close relatives who are American Citizens or Lawful Permanent Resident aliens may be available to DV applicants as well, but the time constraints in the DV program will make it difficult for applicants to benefit from such provisions.
21. MAY PERSONS WHO ARE ALREADY REGISTERED FOR AN IMMIGRANT VISA IN ANOTHER CATEGORY APPLY FOR THE DV PROGRAM?
Yes, such persons may apply for the DV program.
22. HOW LONG DO APPLICANTS WHO ARE SELECTED REMAIN ENTITLED TO APPLY FOR VISAS IN THE DV CATEGORY?
Persons selected in the DV-2010 lottery are entitled to apply for visa issuance only during fiscal year 2010, from October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010. Applicants must obtain the DV visa or adjust status by the end of the fiscal year. There is no carry-over of DV benefits into the next year for persons who are selected but who do not obtain visas during FY-2010. Also, spouses and children who derive status from a DV-2010 registration can only obtain visas in the DV category between October 2009 and September 2010. Applicants who apply overseas will receive an appointment letter from the Kentucky Consular Center four to six weeks before the scheduled appointment.
23. IF AN E-DV SELECTEE DIES, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DV CASE?
The death of an individual selected in the lottery results in automatic revocation of the DV case. Any eligible spouse and/or children are no longer entitled to the DV visa for that entry.
24. WHEN WILL E-DV ONLINE BE AVAILABLE?
Online entry will be available during the registration period beginning at noon EDT (GMT-4) on October 2, 2008, and ending at noon EST (GMT-5) on December 1, 2008.
25. WILL I BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD AND SAVE THE E-DV ENTRY FORM TO A MICROSOFT WORD PROGRAM (OR OTHER SUITABLE PROGRAM) AND THEN FILL IT OUT?
No, you will not be able to save the form into another program for completion and submission later. The E-DV Entry Form is a Web form only. This makes it more “universal” than a proprietary word processor format. Additionally, it does require that the information be filled in and submitted while online.
26. IF I DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO A SCANNER, CAN I SEND PHOTOGRAPHS TO MY RELATIVE IN THE U.S. TO SCAN THE PHOTOGRAPHS, SAVE THE PHOTOGRAPHS TO A DISKETTE, AND THEN MAIL THE DISKETTE BACK TO ME TO APPLY?
Yes, this can be done, as long as the photograph meets the photograph requirements in the instructions and the photograph is electronically submitted with, and at the same time as, the E-DV online entry. The applicants must already have the scanned photograph file when they submit the entry online. The photograph cannot be submitted separately from the online application. Only one online entry can be submitted for each person. Multiple submissions will disqualify the entry for that person for DV-2010. The entire entry (photograph and application together) can be submitted electronically from the United States or from overseas.
27. CAN I SAVE THE FORM ON-LINE SO THAT I CAN FILL OUT PART AND THEN COME BACK LATER AND COMPLETE THE REMAINDER?
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No, this cannot be done. The E-DV Entry Form is designed to be completed and submitted at one time. However, because the form is in two parts, and because of possible network interruptions and delays, the E-DV system is designed to permit up to sixty (60) minutes between the form’s download and when the entry is received at the E-DV website. If more than sixty minutes elapse and the entry has not been electronically received, the information already received is discarded. This is done so that there is no possibility that a full entry could accidentally be interpreted as a duplicate of a previous partial entry. The DV-2010 instructions explain clearly and completely what information is required to fill in the form. Thus you can be fully prepared, making sure you have all of the information needed before you start to complete the form online.
28. IF THE SUBMITTED DIGITAL IMAGES DO NOT CONFORM TO THE SPECIFICATIONS, THE PROCEDURES STATE THAT THE SYSTEM WILL AUTOMATICALLY REJECT THE E-DV ENTRY FORM AND NOTIFY THE SENDER. DOES THIS MEAN I WILL BE ABLE RE-SUBMIT MY ENTRY?
Yes, the entry can be resubmitted. Since the entry was automatically rejected, it was not actually considered as submitted to the E-DV website. It does not count as a submitted E-DV entry, and no confirmation notice of receipt is sent. If there are problems with the digital photograph sent, because it does not conform to the requirements, it is automatically rejected by the E-DV website. However, the amount of time it takes the rejection message to reach the sender is unpredictable, given the nature of the Internet. If the problem can be fixed by the applicant, and the Form Part One or Two is re-sent within sixty (60) minutes, there is no problem. Otherwise, the applicant will have to restart the submission process. An applicant can try to submit an application as many times as is necessary until a complete application is received and the confirmation notice sent.
29. WILL THE ELECTRONIC CONFIRMATION NOTICE THAT THE COMPLETED E-DV ENTRY FORM HAS BEEN RECEIVED THROUGH THE ONLINE SYSTEMBE SENT IMMEDIATELY AFTER SUBMISSION?
The response from the E-DV website which contains confirmation of the receipt of an acceptable E-DV Entry Form is sent by the E-DV website immediately. However, how long it takes the response to reach the sender is unpredictable, given the nature of the Internet. If many minutes have elapsed since pressing the “Submit” button, there is no harm in pressing the “Submit” button a second time. The E-DV system will not be confused by a situation where the “Submit” button is hit a second time, because no confirmation response has been received. An applicant can try to submit an application as many times as is necessary until a complete application is received and the confirmation notice sent. However, once you receive a confirmation notice, do not resubmit your information.
30. HOW WILL I KNOW IF THE NOTIFICATION OF SELECTION THAT I HAVE RECEIVED IS AUTHENTIC? HOW CAN I CONFIRM THAT I HAVE IN FACT BEEN CHOSEN IN THE RANDOM DV LOTTERY?
Keep your confirmation page. You will need it to check the status of your entry on the official DV website after the electronic lottery is conducted (usually March). If you lose your confirmation information, you will not be able to check your DV entry status by yourself, and we will not resend the confirmation page to you. If selected, you will also receive a letter from the Kentucky Consular Center by mail sometime between May and July 2009 at the addresses listed on their E-DV entry. Only the randomly selected individuals will be notified by mail. Persons not selected may check their entry using their confirmation information through the official DV website, but they will not receive any additional official notification by email or by mail. We will NOT resend confirmation page information to you. If you lose your confirmation page information, you will only find out that you were selected if you receive an official letter by mail. U.S. embassies and consulates will NOT provide a list of those selected to continue the visa process. The Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) will send the letters notifying those selected. These letters will contain instructions for the visa application process. The instructions say the selected applicants will pay all diversity and immigrant visa fees in person only at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate at the time of the visa application. The Consular Cashier or Consular Officer immediately gives the visa applicant a U.S. Government receipt for payment. You should never send money for DV fees through the mail, Western Union, or any other delivery service.
The E-DV lottery entries are submitted on the Internet, on the official US Government E-DV website at www.dvlottery.state.gov. KCC sends only letters to the selected applicants. KCC, consular offices, or the
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U.S. Government has never sent e-mails to notify selected individuals, and there are no plans to use e-mail for this purpose for the DV-2010 program. The Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs advises the public that only internet sites including the “.gov” domain suffix are official government websites. Many other non-governmental websites (e.g., using the suffixes “.com” or “.org” or “.net”) provide legitimate and useful immigration and visa related information and services. Regardless of the content of non-governmental websites, the Department of State does not endorse, recommend, or sponsor any information or material shown at these other websites. Some websites may try to mislead customers and members of the public into thinking they are official websites and may contact you by e-mail to lure you to their offers. These websites may attempt to require you to pay for services such as forms and information about immigration procedures, which are otherwise free on the Department of State Visa Services website or through U.S. embassy consular sections’ websites. Additionally, these other websites may require you to pay for services you will not receive (such as fees for diversity visa immigration applications and visas) in an effort to steal your money. If you send in money to one of these scams, you will never see it again. Also, you should be wary of sending any personal information to these websites that might be used for identity fraud/theft.
31. HOW DO I REPORT INTERNET FRAUD OR UNSOLICITED EMAIL?
If you wish to file a complaint about Internet fraud, please see the econsumer.gov website, hosted by the Federal Trade Commission, in cooperation with consumer-protection agencies from 17 nations (http://www.econsumer.gov/english/). You may also report fraud to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center . To file a complaint about unsolicited email, contact the Department of Justice Contact Us page.
32. IF I AM SUCCESSFUL IN OBTAINING A VISA THROUGH THE DV PROGRAM, WILL THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ASSIST WITH MY AIRFARE TO THE U.S., PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO LOCATE HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT, PROVIDE HEALTHCARE, OR PROVIDE ANY SUBSIDIES UNTIL I AM FULLY SETTLED?
No, applicants who obtain a DV visa are not provided any type of assistance such as airfare, housing assistance, or subsidies. If you are selected to apply for a DV visa, you will be required, before you are issued a visa, to provide evidence that you will not become a public charge in the United States. This evidence may be in the form of a combination of your personal assets, an Affidavit of Support (Form I-134) from a relative or friend residing in the United States, and/or an offer of employment from an employer in the United States.
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LIST OF COUNTRIES BY REGION WHOSE NATIVES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DV-2010 The list below shows the countries whose natives are eligible for DV-2010, grouped by geographic region. Dependent areas overseas are included within the region of the governing country. The countries whose natives are not eligible for the DV-2010 program were identified by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), according to the formula in Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The countries whose natives are not eligible for the diversity visa program (because they are the principal source countries of Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based immigration or “high-admission” countries) are noted after the respective regional lists.
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
Persons born in the Gaza Strip are chargeable to Egypt.
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LIST OF COUNTRIES BY REGION WHOSE NATIVES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DV-2010
ASIA
Afghanistan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma Cambodia East Timor Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan Jordan Kuwait Laos
Lebanon
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 are not eligible for this year’s diversity program: China (mainland-born), India, Pakistan, South Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam. Hong Kong S.A.R and Taiwan do qualify and are listed above. Macau S.A.R. also qualifies and is listed below (Europe). Persons born in the areas administered prior to June 1967 by Israel, Jordan, and Syria are chargeable, respectively, to Israel, Jordan, and Syria.
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LIST OF COUNTRIES BY REGION WHOSE NATIVES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DV-2010
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 areas overseas) Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Kosovo Kyrgyzstan Latvia Liechtenstein
Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Special Administrative Region Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands (including components and dependent areas overseas) Northern Ireland Norway Portugal (including components and dependent areas overseas) Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Tajikistan Turkey Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan Vatican City
Natives of the following European countries are not eligible for this year’s diversity program: Great Britain (United Kingdom) and Poland. Great Britain (United Kingdom) includes the following dependent areas: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, St. Helena, and 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.
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LIST OF COUNTRIES BY REGION WHOSE NATIVES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DV-2010 NORTH AMERICA
The Bahamas
In North America, natives of Canada and Mexico are not eligible 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 Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Samoa
LIST OF COUNTRIES BY REGION WHOSE NATIVES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DV-2010
SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina Barbados Belize Bolivia Chile Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Grenada Guyana Honduras Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay Venezuela Countries in this region whose natives are not eligible for this year’s diversity program: Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, and Peru.
The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649) amended INA 203 and provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants.” Section 203(c) of the INA provides a maximum of 55,000 Diversity Visas (DV) each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The annual DV program makes visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses selectees for diversity visas. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the period of the past five years. Within each region, no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in any one year.
For DV-2010, natives of the following countries1 are not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the previous five years: BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, PERU, POLAND, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible. For DV-2010, Russia has returned to the list of eligible countries. Kosovo has also been added to the list of eligible countries. No countries have been removed from the list of eligible countries for DV-2010. The Department of State implemented the electronic registration system beginning with DV-2005 in order to make the Diversity Visa process more efficient and secure. The Department utilizes special technology and other means to identify those who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal immigration or those who submit multiple entries. In DV-2010, for the first time, those who submit entries may check the status of entries online and determine whether their entries are selected or not selected. Successful entrants will continue to receive notification letters by mail. DIVERSITY VISA REGISTRATION PERIOD Entries for the DV-2010 Diversity Visa lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Thursday, October 2, 2008, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, December 1, 2008. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity
Visa entry form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon, EST, on December 1, 2008.
1 The term "country" in this notice includes countries, economies, and other jurisdictions explicitly listed beginning on page 13.
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REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY
To enter the DV lottery, you must be a native of one of the listed countries. See List Of Countries By Region Whose Natives Qualify.
Native of a country whose natives qualify: In most cases, this means the country in which you were born. However, there are two other ways you may be able to qualify. First, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible but your spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible; you can claim your spouse’s country of birth, provided both you and your spouse are on the selected entry, are issued visas, and enter the U.S. simultaneously. Second, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but neither of your parents was born there or resided there at the time of your birth, you may claim nativity in one of your parents’ country of birth, if it is a country whose natives qualify for the DV-2010 program.
To enter the lottery, you must meet either the education or work experience requirement of the DV program.
Education or Work Experience: You 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. The U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net OnLine database will be used to determine qualifying work experience. For more information about qualifying work experience, see Frequently Asked Question #13. If you cannot meet either of these requirements, you should NOT submit an entry to the DV program. PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING AN ENTRY TO DV-2010
The Department of State will only accept completed Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) Entry Forms submitted electronically at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Thursday, October 2, 2008 and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, December 1, 2008.
All entries by an individual will be disqualified if more than ONE entry for that individual is received, regardless of who submitted the entry. You may prepare and submit your own entry, or have someone submit the entry for you.
A successfully registered entry will result in the display of a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. You may print this confirmation screen for your records using the print function of your web browser. Starting July 1, 2009, you will be able to check the status of your entry by returning to the website and entering your unique confirmation number and personal information.
Paper entries will not be accepted.
It is very important that all required photographs be submitted. Your entry will be disqualified if all required photographs are not submitted. Recent photographs of the following people must be submitted electronically with the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form:
You
Your spouse
Each unmarried child under 21 years of age at the time of your electronic entry, including all natural children as well as all legally-adopted children and stepchildren, even if a child no longer resides with you or you do not intend for a child to immigrate under the DV program.
You do not need to submit a photo for a child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident. Group or family photographs will not be accepted; there must be a separate photograph for each family member. Failure to submit the required photographs for your spouse and each child listed will result in an incomplete entry to the E-DV system. The entry will not be accepted and must be resubmitted. Failure to enter the correct photograph of each individual in the case into the E-DV system will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview.
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A digital photograph (image) of you, your spouse, and each child must be submitted on-line with the E-DV Entry Form. The image file can be produced either by taking a new digital photograph or by scanning a photographic print with a digital scanner.
Entries are subject to disqualification and visa refusal for cases in which the photographs are not recent or have been manipulated or fail to meet the specifications explained below.
Instructions for Submitting a Digital Photograph (Image) The image file must adhere to the following compositional and technical specifications and can be produced in one of the following ways: taking a new digital image or using a digital scanner to scan a photograph. Entrants may test their photos for suitability through the photo validator link on the e-DV website before submitting their entries. The photo validator provides additional technical advice on photo composition, along with examples of acceptable and unacceptable photos. Compositional Specifications: The submitted digital image must conform to the following compositional specifications or the entry will be disqualified.
Head Position
o The person being photographed must directly face the camera.
o The head of the person should not be tilted up, down, or to the side.
o The head of the person should cover about 50% of the area of the photograph.
Background
o The person being photographed should be taken with the person in front of a neutral, light-colored background.
o Dark or patterned backgrounds are not acceptable.
Focus
o The photograph must be in focus.
Decorative Items
o Photographs in which the person being photographed is wearing sunglasses or other items that detract from the face will not be accepted.
Head Coverings and Hats
o Photos of applicants wearing head coverings or hats are only acceptable if the head covering is worn for religious beliefs; and even then, the head covering may not obscure any portion of the face of the applicant. Photographs of applicants with tribal or other headgear not specifically religious in nature will not be accepted; photographs of military, airline, or other personnel wearing hats will not be accepted.
Color photographs in 24-bit color depth are required. Photographs may be downloaded from a camera to a file in the computer, or they may be scanned to a file in the computer. If you are using a scanner, the settings must be for True Color or 24-bit color mode. Color photographs must be scanned at this setting for the requirements of the DV program. See the additional scanning requirements below.
Technical Specifications
The submitted digital photograph must conform to the following specifications or the system will automatically reject the E-DV Entry Form and notify the sender.
Taking a New Digital Image. If a new digital image is taken, it must meet the following specifications:
Image File Format:
The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format.
Image File Size:
The maximum image file size is 240 kilobytes (240 KB).
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Image Resolution:
600 pixels high by 600 pixels wide.
Image Color Depth:
24-bit color [Note: Color photographs are required. Black and white, monochrome images (2-bit color depth), 8-bit color, or 8-bit grayscale will not be accepted.]
Scanning a Submitted Photograph. Before a photographic print is scanned, it must meet the compositional specifications listed above. If the photographic print meets the print color and compositional specifications, scan the print using the following scanner specifications:
Scanner Resolution:
Scanned at a resolution of at least 150 dots per inch (dpi).
Image File Format:
The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format.
Image File Size:
The maximum image file size is 240 kilobytes (240 KB).
Image Resolution:
600 by 600 pixels.
Image Color Depth:
24-bit color. [Note that black and white, monochrome, or grayscale images will not be accepted.]
INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR THE ELECTRONIC ENTRY
There is only one way to enter the DV-2010 lottery. You must submit the DS 5501, the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form (E-DV Entry Form), which is accessible only at www.dvlottery.state.gov. Failure to complete the form in its entirety will disqualify the entry. Those who submit the E-DV entry will be asked to include the following information on the E-DV Entry Form.
1. FULL NAME – Last/Family Name, First Name, Middle name
2. DATE OF BIRTH – Day, Month, Year
3. GENDER – Male or Female
4. CITY WHERE YOU WERE BORN
5. COUNTRY WHERE YOU WERE BORN – The name of the country should be that which is currently in use for the place where you were born.
6. COUNTRY OF ELIGIBILITY OR CHARGEABILITY FOR THE DV PROGRAM – Your country of eligibility will normally be the same as your country of birth. Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live. If you were born in a country that is not eligible for the DV program, please review the instructions to see if there is another option for country chargeability available for you. For additional information on chargeability, please review “Frequently Asked Question #1” of these instructions.
7. ENTRY PHOTOGRAPH(S) – See the technical information on photograph specifications. Make sure you include photographs of your spouse and all your children, if applicable. See Frequently Asked Question #3.
8. MAILING ADDRESS – In Care Of, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City/Town, District/Country/Province/State, Postal Code/Zip Code, and Country
9. COUNTRY WHERE YOU LIVE TODAY
10. PHONE NUMBER (optional)
11. E-MAIL ADDRESS (optional)
12. WHAT IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF EDUCATION YOU HAVE ACHIEVED, AS OF TODAY? You must indicate which one of the following represents your own highest level of educational achievement: (1)
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Primary school only, (2) High school, no degree, (3) High school degree, (4) Vocational school, (5) Some university courses, (6) University degree, (7) Some graduate level courses, (8) Master degree, (9) Some doctorate level courses, and (10) Doctorate degree
13. MARITAL STATUS – Unmarried, Married, Divorced, Widowed, or Legally Separated
14. NUMBER OF CHILDREN – Entries MUST include the name, date, and place of birth of your spouse and all natural children, as well as all legally-adopted children and stepchildren who are unmarried and under the age of 21 on the date of your entry (do not include children who are already U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents), even if you are no longer legally married to the child’s parent, and even if the spouse or child does not currently reside with you and/or will not immigrate with you. Note that married children and children 21 years or older are not eligible for the diversity visa; however, U.S. law protects children from “aging out” in certain circumstances. If your electronic DV entry is made before your unmarried child turns 21, and the child turns 21 before visa issuance, he/she will be treated as though he/she were under 21 for visa-processing purposes. Failure to list all children who are eligible will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview. See Frequently Asked Question #11. 15. SPOUSE INFORMATION – Name, Date of Birth, Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth, and Photograph. Failure to list your spouse will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview. 16. CHILDREN INFORMATION – Name, Date of Birth, Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth, and Photograph: Include all children declared in question #14 above.
SELECTION OF APPLICANTS The computer will randomly select individuals from among all qualified entries. The selected individuals will be notified by mail between May and July 2009; the notification letters will provide further instructions, including information on fees connected with immigration to the U.S. Those selected in the random drawing are NOT notified by e-mail. Those individuals NOT selected will NOT receive any notification. U.S. embassies and consulates will not provide a list of successful entrants. Successful entrants’ spouses and unmarried children under age 21 may also apply for visas to accompany or follow-to-join the principal applicant. DV-2010 visas will be issued between October 1, 2009, and September 30, 2010. Processing of entries and issuance of diversity visas to successful individuals and their eligible family members MUST occur by midnight on September 30, 2010. Under no circumstances can diversity visas be issued or adjustments approved after this date, nor can family members obtain diversity visas to follow-to-join the principal applicant in the U.S. after this date. In order to receive a Diversity Visa to immigrate to the United States, those chosen in the random drawing must meet ALL eligibility requirements under U.S. law. These requirements may significantly increase the level of scrutiny required and time necessary for processing for natives of some countries listed in this notice including, but not limited to, countries identified as state sponsors of terrorism. Important Notice No fee is charged for the electronic lottery entry in the annual DV program. The U.S. Government employs no outside consultants or private services to operate the DV program. Any intermediaries or others who offer assistance to prepare DV entries do so without the authority or consent of the U.S. Government. Use of any outside intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV entry is entirely at the entrant’s discretion. A qualified electronic entry submitted directly by an applicant has an equal chance of being selected by the computer at the Kentucky Consular Center as does an electronic entry received during the lottery registration period will have an equal random chance of being selected within its region. However, receipt of more than one entry per person will disqualify the person from registration, regardless of the source of the entry.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. WHAT DO THE TERMS “ELIGIBILITY”, “NATIVE” AND “CHARGEABILITY” MEAN? ARE THERE ANY SITUATIONS IN WHICH PERSONS WHO WERE NOT BORN IN A QUALIFYING COUNTRY MAY APPLY?
Your country of eligibility will normally be the same as your country of birth. Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live. “Native” ordinarily means someone born in a particular country, regardless of the individual’s current country of residence or nationality. For immigration purposes, “native” can also mean someone who is entitled to be “charged” to a country other than the one in which he/she was born under the provisions of Section 202(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. For example, if you were born in a country that is not eligible for this year’s DV program, you may claim chargeability to the country where your derivative spouse was born, but you will not be issued a DV-1 unless your spouse is also eligible for and issued a DV-2, and both of you must enter the United States together with the diversity visas. In a similar manner, a minor dependent child can be “charged” to a parent’s country of birth. Finally, if you were born in a country not eligible to participate in this year’s DV program, you can be “charged” to the country of birth of either of your parents as long as neither parent was a resident of the ineligible country at the time of the your birth. In general, people are not considered residents of a country in which they were not born or legally naturalized if they are only visiting the country, studying in the country temporarily, or stationed temporarily in the country for business or professional reasons on behalf of a company or government from a country other than the country in which the applicant was born. If you claim alternate chargeability, you must indicate such information on the E-DV electronic online entry form, in question #6. Please be aware that listing an incorrect country of eligibility or chargeability (i.e., one to which you cannot establish a valid claim) may disqualify your entry.
2. ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR NEW REQUIREMENTS IN THE APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR THIS DIVERSITY VISA REGISTRATION?
For DV-2010, you may check the status of your entry using your confirmation page information. Because this confirmation information will be provided only once – at the time of your entry – it is extremely important that you print or write down your confirmation information for later use. If you lose this information, you will still receive a letter from the Kentucky Consular Center by mail notifying you of your selection, if you are successful. You will receive no additional notification if your entry is unsuccessful, but you may check this through the Internet using your confirmation information. Photo size requirements have increased for DV-2010 to 600 by 600 pixels. Old photos used in previous years should not be reused for DV-2010. Only color photos may be submitted for DV-2010. Black and white photos are not acceptable.
3. ARE SIGNATURES AND PHOTOGRAPHS REQUIRED FOR EACH FAMILY MEMBER, OR ONLY FOR THE PRINCIPAL ENTRANT?
Signatures are not required on the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. Recent and individual photographs of you, your spouse and all children under 21 years of age are required. Family or group photographs are not accepted. Refer to information on the photograph requirements located in this bulletin.
4. WHY DO NATIVES OF CERTAIN COUNTRIES NOT QUALIFY FOR THE DIVERSITY PROGRAM?
Diversity visas are intended to provide an immigration opportunity for persons from countries other than the countries that send large numbers of immigrants to the U.S. The law states that no diversity visas shall be provided for natives of “high-admission” countries. The law defines this to mean countries from which a total of 50,000 persons in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based visa categories immigrated to the United States during the previous five years. Each year, the USCIS adds the family and employment immigrant admission figures for the previous five years to identify the countries whose natives will be ineligible for the
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annual diversity lottery. Because there is a separate determination made before each annual E-DV entry period, the list of countries whose natives are not eligible may change from one year to the next.
5. WHAT IS THE NUMERICAL LIMIT FOR DV-2010?
By law, the U.S. diversity immigration program makes available a maximum of 55,000 permanent residence visas each year to eligible persons. However, the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that beginning as early as DV-1999, and for as long as necessary, up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NACARA program. The actual reduction of the limit by up to 5,000 diversity visas began with DV-2000 and is likely to remain in effect through the DV-2010 program.
6. WHAT ARE THE REGIONAL DIVERSITY VISA (DV) LIMITS FOR DV-2010?
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines the DV regional limits for each year according to a formula specified in Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Once the USCIS has completed the calculations, the regional visa limits will be announced.
7. WHEN WILL ENTRIES FOR THE DV-2010 PROGRAM BE ACCEPTED?
The DV-2010 entry period will run through the registration period listed above. Each year millions of people apply for the program during the registration period. The massive volume of entries creates an enormous amount of work in selecting and processing successful individuals. Holding the entry period during October, November, and December will ensure that selectees are notified in a timely manner and gives both the visa applicants and our embassies and consulates time to prepare and complete cases for visa issuance. You are strongly encouraged to enter early in the registration period. Excessive demand at end of the registration period may slow the system down. No entries whatsoever will be accepted after noon EST Monday December 1, 2008.
8. MAY PERSONS WHO ARE IN THE U.S. APPLY FOR THE PROGRAM?
Yes, an applicant may be in the U.S. or in another country, and the entry may be submitted from the United States or from abroad.
9. IS EACH APPLICANT LIMITED TO ONLY ONE ENTRY DURING THE ANNUAL E-DV REGISTRATION PERIOD?
Yes, the law allows only one entry by or for each person during each registration period. Individuals for whom more than one entry is submitted will be disqualified. The Department of State will employ sophisticated technology and other means to identify individuals who submit multiple entries during the registration period. People submitting more than one entry will be disqualified and an electronic record will be permanently maintained by the Department of State. Individuals may apply for the program each year during the regular registration period.
10. MAY A HUSBAND AND A WIFE EACH SUBMIT A SEPARATE ENTRY?
Yes, a husband and a wife may each submit one entry if each meets the eligibility requirements. If either is selected, the other is entitled to derivative status.
11. WHAT FAMILY MEMBERS MUST I INCLUDE ON MY E-DV ENTRY?
On your entry you must list your spouse (husband or wife) and all unmarried children under 21 years of age, with the exception of children who are already U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents. You must list your spouse even if you are currently separated from him/her, unless you are legally separated (i.e.,
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there is a written agreement recognized by a court or a court order). If you are legally separated or divorced, you do not need to list your former spouse. You must list ALL your children who are unmarried and under 21 years of age at the time of your initial electronic DV entry, whether they are your natural children, your spouse’s children, or children you have formally adopted in accordance with the laws of your country, unless such child is already a U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent Resident. List all children under 21 years of age at the time of your electronic entry, even if they no longer reside with you or you do not intend for them to immigrate under the DV program. The fact that you have listed family members on your entry does not mean that they must travel with you. They may choose to remain behind. However, if you include an eligible dependent on your visa application forms that you failed to include on your original entry, your case will be disqualified. This only applies to those who were family members at the time the original application was submitted, not those acquired at a later date. Your spouse may still submit a separate entry, even though he or she is listed on your entry, as long as both entries include details on all dependents in your family. See question #10 above.
12. MUST I SUBMIT MY OWN ENTRY, OR MAY SOMEONE ACT ON MY BEHALF?
You may prepare and submit your own entry, or have someone submit the entry for you. Regardless of whether an entry is submitted by the individual directly, or assistance is provided by an attorney, friend, relative, etc., only one entry may be submitted in the name of each person, and the entrant remains responsible for ensuring that information in the entry is correct and complete. If the entry is selected, the notification letter will be sent only to the mailing address provided on the entry. All entrants, including those not selected, will be able to check the status of their entry through the official DV website. Entrants should keep their own confirmation page information so that they may independently check the status of their entry.
13. WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION OR WORK EXPERIENCE?
The law and regulations require that every entrant must have at least a high school education or its equivalent or have, within the past five years, two years of work experience in an occupation requiring at least two years’ training or experience. A “high school education or equivalent” is defined as successful completion of a twelve-year course of elementary and secondary education in the United States or successful completion in another country of a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to a high school education in the United States. Only formal courses of study meet this requirement; correspondence programs or equivalency certificates (such as the G.E.D.) are not acceptable. Documentary proof of education or work experience must be presented to the consular officer at the time of the visa interview. What Occupations qualify for the Diversity Visa Program?
To determine eligibility based on work experience, definitions from the Department of Labor’s O*Net OnLine database will be used. The O*Net Online Database groups job experience into five “job zones.” While many occupations are listed on the DOL Website, only certain specified occupations qualify for the Diversity Visa Program. To qualify for a Diversity Visa on the basis of your work experience, you must have, within the past five years, two years of experience in an occupation that is designated as Job Zone 4 or 5, classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) range of 7.0 or higher. How Do I Find the Qualifying Occupations on the Department of Labor Website? Qualifying DV Occupations are shown on the Department of Labor O*Net Online Database. Follow these steps to find out if your occupation qualifies: Select “Find Occupations” and then select a specific “Job Family.” For example, select Architecture and Engineering and click “GO.” Then click on the link for the specific Occupation. Following the same example, click Aerospace Engineers. After selecting a specific Occupation link, select the tab “Job Zone” to find out the designated Job Zone number and Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) rating range.
14. HOW WILL SUCCESSFUL ENTRANTS BE SELECTED?
At the Kentucky Consular Center, all entries received from each region will be individually numbered. After the end of the registration period, a computer will randomly select entries from among all the entries received for each geographic region. Within each region, the first entry randomly selected will be the first case
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registered; the second entry selected the second registration, etc. All entries received during the registration period will have an equal chance of being selected within each region. When an entry has been selected, the entrant will be sent a notification letter by the Kentucky Consular Center, which will provide visa application instructions. The Kentucky Consular Center will continue to process the case until those selected to be visa applicants are instructed to appear for visa interviews at a U.S. consular office or until those qualifying to change status in the United States apply at a domestic USCIS office. Important Note: Notifications to those selected in the random lottery are not sent by e-mail. Should you receive an e-mail notification about your E-DV selection, be aware that the message is not legitimate.
15. MAY SELECTEES ADJUST THEIR STATUS WITH USCIS?
Yes, provided they are otherwise eligible to adjust status under the terms of Section 245 of the INA, selected individuals who are physically present in the United States may apply to the USCIS for adjustment of status to permanent resident. Applicants must ensure that USCIS can complete action on their cases, including processing of any overseas derivatives, before September 30, 2010, since on that date registrations for the DV-2010 program expire. No visa numbers for the DV-2010 program will be available after midnight EST on September 30, 2010 under any circumstances.
16. WILL ENTRANTS WHO ARE NOT SELECTED BE INFORMED?
Starting with DV-2010, all entrants, including those NOT selected, will be able to check the status of their entry through the E-DV website and find out if their entry was or was not selected. Entrants should keep their own confirmation page information from the time of their entry (October 2, 2008, to December 1, 2008) until they may check the status of their entry online. Status information for DV-2010 will be available online from July 1, 2009, until June 30, 2010. All notification letters are sent to the address indicated on the entry within five to seven months from the end of the application period.
17. HOW MANY INDIVIDUALS WILL BE SELECTED?
There are 50,000 DV visas available for DV-2010, but more than that number of individuals will be selected. Because it is likely that some of the first 50,000 persons who are selected will not qualify for visas or pursue their cases to visa issuance, more than 50,000 entries will be selected by the Kentucky Consular Center to ensure that all of the available DV visas are issued. However, this also means that there will not be a sufficient number of visas for all those who are initially selected. All applicants who are selected will be informed promptly of their place on the list. Interviews for the DV-2010 program will begin in October 2009. The Kentucky Consular Center will send appointment letters to selected applicants four to six weeks before the scheduled interviews with U.S. consular officers at overseas posts. Each month, visas will be issued to those applicants who are ready for issuance during that month, visa-number availability permitting. Once all of the 50,000 DV visas have been issued, the program will end. In principle, visa numbers could be finished before September 2010. Selected applicants who wish to receive visas must be prepared to act promptly on their cases. Random selection by the Kentucky Consular Center computer as a selectee does not automatically guarantee that you will receive a visa. You must qualify for the visa as well.
18. IS THERE A MINIMUM AGE FOR APPLICANTS TO APPLY FOR THE E-DV PROGRAM?
There is no minimum age to apply for the program, but the requirement of a high school education or work experience for each principal applicant at the time of application will effectively disqualify most persons who are under age 18.
19. ARE THERE ANY FEES FOR THE E-DV PROGRAM?
There is no fee for submitting an electronic lottery entry. DV applicants must pay all required visa fees at the time of visa application directly to the consular cashier at the embassy or consulate. Details of required diversity visa and immigration visa application fees will be included with the instructions sent by the Kentucky Consular Center to applicants who are selected.
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20. DO DV APPLICANTS RECEIVE WAIVERS OF ANY GROUNDS OF VISA INELIGIBILITY OR RECEIVE SPECIAL PROCESSING FOR A WAIVER APPLICATION?
Applicants are subject to all grounds of ineligibility for immigrant visas specified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. There are no special provisions for the waiver of any ground of visa ineligibility aside from those ordinarily provided in the Act, nor is there special processing for waiver requests. Some general waiver provisions for people with close relatives who are American Citizens or Lawful Permanent Resident aliens may be available to DV applicants as well, but the time constraints in the DV program will make it difficult for applicants to benefit from such provisions.
21. MAY PERSONS WHO ARE ALREADY REGISTERED FOR AN IMMIGRANT VISA IN ANOTHER CATEGORY APPLY FOR THE DV PROGRAM?
Yes, such persons may apply for the DV program.
22. HOW LONG DO APPLICANTS WHO ARE SELECTED REMAIN ENTITLED TO APPLY FOR VISAS IN THE DV CATEGORY?
Persons selected in the DV-2010 lottery are entitled to apply for visa issuance only during fiscal year 2010, from October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010. Applicants must obtain the DV visa or adjust status by the end of the fiscal year. There is no carry-over of DV benefits into the next year for persons who are selected but who do not obtain visas during FY-2010. Also, spouses and children who derive status from a DV-2010 registration can only obtain visas in the DV category between October 2009 and September 2010. Applicants who apply overseas will receive an appointment letter from the Kentucky Consular Center four to six weeks before the scheduled appointment.
23. IF AN E-DV SELECTEE DIES, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DV CASE?
The death of an individual selected in the lottery results in automatic revocation of the DV case. Any eligible spouse and/or children are no longer entitled to the DV visa for that entry.
24. WHEN WILL E-DV ONLINE BE AVAILABLE?
Online entry will be available during the registration period beginning at noon EDT (GMT-4) on October 2, 2008, and ending at noon EST (GMT-5) on December 1, 2008.
25. WILL I BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD AND SAVE THE E-DV ENTRY FORM TO A MICROSOFT WORD PROGRAM (OR OTHER SUITABLE PROGRAM) AND THEN FILL IT OUT?
No, you will not be able to save the form into another program for completion and submission later. The E-DV Entry Form is a Web form only. This makes it more “universal” than a proprietary word processor format. Additionally, it does require that the information be filled in and submitted while online.
26. IF I DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO A SCANNER, CAN I SEND PHOTOGRAPHS TO MY RELATIVE IN THE U.S. TO SCAN THE PHOTOGRAPHS, SAVE THE PHOTOGRAPHS TO A DISKETTE, AND THEN MAIL THE DISKETTE BACK TO ME TO APPLY?
Yes, this can be done, as long as the photograph meets the photograph requirements in the instructions and the photograph is electronically submitted with, and at the same time as, the E-DV online entry. The applicants must already have the scanned photograph file when they submit the entry online. The photograph cannot be submitted separately from the online application. Only one online entry can be submitted for each person. Multiple submissions will disqualify the entry for that person for DV-2010. The entire entry (photograph and application together) can be submitted electronically from the United States or from overseas.
27. CAN I SAVE THE FORM ON-LINE SO THAT I CAN FILL OUT PART AND THEN COME BACK LATER AND COMPLETE THE REMAINDER?
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No, this cannot be done. The E-DV Entry Form is designed to be completed and submitted at one time. However, because the form is in two parts, and because of possible network interruptions and delays, the E-DV system is designed to permit up to sixty (60) minutes between the form’s download and when the entry is received at the E-DV website. If more than sixty minutes elapse and the entry has not been electronically received, the information already received is discarded. This is done so that there is no possibility that a full entry could accidentally be interpreted as a duplicate of a previous partial entry. The DV-2010 instructions explain clearly and completely what information is required to fill in the form. Thus you can be fully prepared, making sure you have all of the information needed before you start to complete the form online.
28. IF THE SUBMITTED DIGITAL IMAGES DO NOT CONFORM TO THE SPECIFICATIONS, THE PROCEDURES STATE THAT THE SYSTEM WILL AUTOMATICALLY REJECT THE E-DV ENTRY FORM AND NOTIFY THE SENDER. DOES THIS MEAN I WILL BE ABLE RE-SUBMIT MY ENTRY?
Yes, the entry can be resubmitted. Since the entry was automatically rejected, it was not actually considered as submitted to the E-DV website. It does not count as a submitted E-DV entry, and no confirmation notice of receipt is sent. If there are problems with the digital photograph sent, because it does not conform to the requirements, it is automatically rejected by the E-DV website. However, the amount of time it takes the rejection message to reach the sender is unpredictable, given the nature of the Internet. If the problem can be fixed by the applicant, and the Form Part One or Two is re-sent within sixty (60) minutes, there is no problem. Otherwise, the applicant will have to restart the submission process. An applicant can try to submit an application as many times as is necessary until a complete application is received and the confirmation notice sent.
29. WILL THE ELECTRONIC CONFIRMATION NOTICE THAT THE COMPLETED E-DV ENTRY FORM HAS BEEN RECEIVED THROUGH THE ONLINE SYSTEMBE SENT IMMEDIATELY AFTER SUBMISSION?
The response from the E-DV website which contains confirmation of the receipt of an acceptable E-DV Entry Form is sent by the E-DV website immediately. However, how long it takes the response to reach the sender is unpredictable, given the nature of the Internet. If many minutes have elapsed since pressing the “Submit” button, there is no harm in pressing the “Submit” button a second time. The E-DV system will not be confused by a situation where the “Submit” button is hit a second time, because no confirmation response has been received. An applicant can try to submit an application as many times as is necessary until a complete application is received and the confirmation notice sent. However, once you receive a confirmation notice, do not resubmit your information.
30. HOW WILL I KNOW IF THE NOTIFICATION OF SELECTION THAT I HAVE RECEIVED IS AUTHENTIC? HOW CAN I CONFIRM THAT I HAVE IN FACT BEEN CHOSEN IN THE RANDOM DV LOTTERY?
Keep your confirmation page. You will need it to check the status of your entry on the official DV website after the electronic lottery is conducted (usually March). If you lose your confirmation information, you will not be able to check your DV entry status by yourself, and we will not resend the confirmation page to you. If selected, you will also receive a letter from the Kentucky Consular Center by mail sometime between May and July 2009 at the addresses listed on their E-DV entry. Only the randomly selected individuals will be notified by mail. Persons not selected may check their entry using their confirmation information through the official DV website, but they will not receive any additional official notification by email or by mail. We will NOT resend confirmation page information to you. If you lose your confirmation page information, you will only find out that you were selected if you receive an official letter by mail. U.S. embassies and consulates will NOT provide a list of those selected to continue the visa process. The Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) will send the letters notifying those selected. These letters will contain instructions for the visa application process. The instructions say the selected applicants will pay all diversity and immigrant visa fees in person only at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate at the time of the visa application. The Consular Cashier or Consular Officer immediately gives the visa applicant a U.S. Government receipt for payment. You should never send money for DV fees through the mail, Western Union, or any other delivery service.
The E-DV lottery entries are submitted on the Internet, on the official US Government E-DV website at www.dvlottery.state.gov. KCC sends only letters to the selected applicants. KCC, consular offices, or the
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U.S. Government has never sent e-mails to notify selected individuals, and there are no plans to use e-mail for this purpose for the DV-2010 program. The Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs advises the public that only internet sites including the “.gov” domain suffix are official government websites. Many other non-governmental websites (e.g., using the suffixes “.com” or “.org” or “.net”) provide legitimate and useful immigration and visa related information and services. Regardless of the content of non-governmental websites, the Department of State does not endorse, recommend, or sponsor any information or material shown at these other websites. Some websites may try to mislead customers and members of the public into thinking they are official websites and may contact you by e-mail to lure you to their offers. These websites may attempt to require you to pay for services such as forms and information about immigration procedures, which are otherwise free on the Department of State Visa Services website or through U.S. embassy consular sections’ websites. Additionally, these other websites may require you to pay for services you will not receive (such as fees for diversity visa immigration applications and visas) in an effort to steal your money. If you send in money to one of these scams, you will never see it again. Also, you should be wary of sending any personal information to these websites that might be used for identity fraud/theft.
31. HOW DO I REPORT INTERNET FRAUD OR UNSOLICITED EMAIL?
If you wish to file a complaint about Internet fraud, please see the econsumer.gov website, hosted by the Federal Trade Commission, in cooperation with consumer-protection agencies from 17 nations (http://www.econsumer.gov/english/). You may also report fraud to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center . To file a complaint about unsolicited email, contact the Department of Justice Contact Us page.
32. IF I AM SUCCESSFUL IN OBTAINING A VISA THROUGH THE DV PROGRAM, WILL THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ASSIST WITH MY AIRFARE TO THE U.S., PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO LOCATE HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT, PROVIDE HEALTHCARE, OR PROVIDE ANY SUBSIDIES UNTIL I AM FULLY SETTLED?
No, applicants who obtain a DV visa are not provided any type of assistance such as airfare, housing assistance, or subsidies. If you are selected to apply for a DV visa, you will be required, before you are issued a visa, to provide evidence that you will not become a public charge in the United States. This evidence may be in the form of a combination of your personal assets, an Affidavit of Support (Form I-134) from a relative or friend residing in the United States, and/or an offer of employment from an employer in the United States.
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LIST OF COUNTRIES BY REGION WHOSE NATIVES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DV-2010 The list below shows the countries whose natives are eligible for DV-2010, grouped by geographic region. Dependent areas overseas are included within the region of the governing country. The countries whose natives are not eligible for the DV-2010 program were identified by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), according to the formula in Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The countries whose natives are not eligible for the diversity visa program (because they are the principal source countries of Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based immigration or “high-admission” countries) are noted after the respective regional lists.
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
Persons born in the Gaza Strip are chargeable to Egypt.
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LIST OF COUNTRIES BY REGION WHOSE NATIVES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DV-2010
ASIA
Afghanistan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma Cambodia East Timor Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan Jordan Kuwait Laos
Lebanon
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 are not eligible for this year’s diversity program: China (mainland-born), India, Pakistan, South Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam. Hong Kong S.A.R and Taiwan do qualify and are listed above. Macau S.A.R. also qualifies and is listed below (Europe). Persons born in the areas administered prior to June 1967 by Israel, Jordan, and Syria are chargeable, respectively, to Israel, Jordan, and Syria.
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LIST OF COUNTRIES BY REGION WHOSE NATIVES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DV-2010
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 areas overseas) Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Kosovo Kyrgyzstan Latvia Liechtenstein
Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Special Administrative Region Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands (including components and dependent areas overseas) Northern Ireland Norway Portugal (including components and dependent areas overseas) Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Tajikistan Turkey Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan Vatican City
Natives of the following European countries are not eligible for this year’s diversity program: Great Britain (United Kingdom) and Poland. Great Britain (United Kingdom) includes the following dependent areas: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, St. Helena, and 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.
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LIST OF COUNTRIES BY REGION WHOSE NATIVES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DV-2010 NORTH AMERICA
The Bahamas
In North America, natives of Canada and Mexico are not eligible 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 Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Samoa
LIST OF COUNTRIES BY REGION WHOSE NATIVES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DV-2010
SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina Barbados Belize Bolivia Chile Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Grenada Guyana Honduras Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay Venezuela Countries in this region whose natives are not eligible for this year’s diversity program: Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, and Peru.
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