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More than 6,200 of the Diversity Visa Lottery registrants for 2005 come from Poland, the second year in a row in which Poland leads Europe in the number of people registered in this program. As in 2004, this is almost six percent of all the registrants worldwide and the highest number of registrants for any European or Central Asian country. It is the third highest number in the world, following Bangladesh and Nigeria.
Each year the Diversity Visa Lottery is conducted under the Immigration and Nationality Act and makes available 50,000 permanent resident visas to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. In the latest round, about 111,000 applicants have been notified that they may apply for an immigrant visa starting October 1, 2004, the beginning of fiscal year 2005. The Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky, selects more than twice as many winners as there are slots, because it's likely that some of the first 50,000 persons won't pursue their cases to the end, or will be disqualified. This process insures that all the slots are eventually filled.
6,211 of the registrants for 2005 come from Poland. The European country with the second highest number is Ukraine with 5,361 winners. Lottery visas for Ukrainians are also processed at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw.
Applicants registered for the 2005 program were selected at random from the approximately 5.9 million qualified entries received between November 1 and December 30, 2003. For the first time, all entries were submitted electronically, thereby virtually eliminating the possibility of multiple entries, a problem frequently seen in prior years. During the visa interview, 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 and their dependents must receive their visas by September 30, 2005.
Only participants in the 2005 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 2006 Visa Lottery if they wish.
Additional information, including the number of visa lottery winners for each country, is available at the U.S. Embassy website, www.usinfo.pl.
For more information: Jim Bond or Dick Custin, Public Affairs, (22) 504-2323
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