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USCIS Updates Filing Instructions For Immigration Forms

Wednesday August 4, 2010

USCIS continues to streamline its processing of applications and petitions with the recent change in filing locations for several forms.

The following forms should be mailed to USCIS lockbox facilities rather than directly to USCIS Service Centers:

  • I-129F
  • I-130
  • I-140
  • I-526
  • I-539
  • I-817

The updated filing instructions can be found on the latest versions of each form, which are available for free from USCIS.

This change became effective August 3, 2010, but don't worry if you recently mailed an application. Applications already en route to the Service Centers will be automatically forwarded to the appropriate lockbox for a period of 45 days. After September 17th, packages (including fees) will be returned to the applicant along with a note explaining the new filing instructions.

Read the official statement from USCIS.

DV-2011 Entry Status: Is There Still a Chance?

Saturday July 10, 2010

Selectee letters for the DV-2011 green card lottery have all been mailed out, and all applicants can now confirm their entry status through the E-DV website. A question related to the selection and notification process has been popping up a lot this week:

If the E-DV entry status confirmation page says that I HAVE NOT BEEN selected, is there still be a chance that my entry could be selected later in the year? Should I keep checking the website?

It's a reasonable question, knowing that DV-2011 entrants can keep checking the E-DV website for nearly a year. Unfortunately, if you receive a message saying that you have not been selected (and the information/confirmation number you entered is correct), it means that you won't be selected for a visa this year (but you can try again next year!).

There are 50,000 diversity visas available in each year's lottery, but twice that number of applicants are selected for further processing since it is likely that some of the first 50,000 people registered will not finish the process to get a diversity visa.

For those of you who weren't selected this year, the DV-2012 green card lottery registration period is scheduled to start in October 2010. Watch for more information in August.

State Department Posts DV-2011 Results

Friday July 9, 2010

Over 12.1 million qualified entries were received in the DV-2011 lottery; a slight drop from the over 13.6 million qualified entries received during last year's DV-2010 lottery.

Following are the complete DV-2011 results from the Department of State:

The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2011 diversity lottery. The diversity lottery was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and makes available *50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Approximately 100,600 applicants have been registered and notified and may now make an application for an immigrant visa. Since it is likely that some of the first *50,000 persons registered will not pursue their cases to visa issuance, this larger figure should insure that all DV-2011 numbers will be used during fiscal year 2011 (October 1, 2010 until September 30, 2011).

Applicants registered for the DV-2011 program were selected at random from over 12.1 million qualified entries (16.5 million with derivatives) received during the 60-day application period that ran from noon on October 2, 2009, until noon, November 30, 2009. The visas have been apportioned among six geographic regions with a maximum of seven percent available to persons born in any single country. During the visa interview, principal applicants must provide proof of a high school education or its equivalent, or show two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience within the past five years. Those selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly. Applicants should follow the instructions in their notification letter and must fully complete the information requested.

Registrants living legally in the United States who wish to apply for adjustment of their status must contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for information on the requirements and procedures. Once the total *50,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2011 will end. Selected applicants who do not receive visas by September 30, 2011 will derive no further benefit from their DV-2011 registration. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2011 principal applicants are only entitled to derivative diversity visa status until September 30, 2011.

Only participants in the DV-2011 program who were selected for further processing have been notified. Those who have not received notification were not selected. They may try for the upcoming DV-2012 lottery if they wish. The dates for the registration period for the DV-2012 lottery program will be widely publicized during August 2010.

* The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulated that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas be made available for use under the NACARA program. The reduction of the limit of available visas to 50,000 began with DV-2000.

A breakdown of DV-2011 registrations by country is also available.

Did you enter the DV-2011 green card lottery? Find out if your entry was selected.

Happy Independence Day

Sunday July 4, 2010

A newly naturalization U.S. citizen holds a program booklet during a naturalization ceremony

Independence Day is a special day for many Americans, but in particular for new immigrants. For those who lack basic freedoms in their own country, there is a ray of hope contained within our Declaration of Independence: "...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

In 1776 when the Declaration was signed, Congress understood that immigration was the building block of the nation and needed to be protected. They even listed the prevention of immigration as one of the oppressions by the King of Great Britain. "He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands."


To our naturalized citizens and permanent residents, I wish you a happy 4th of July weekend. And to those of you seeking immigration that have not yet joined us in the U.S., I wish you a speedy journey.

Happy 4th of July!

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Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

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